


Decepticon Sari

by LenoraLana



Category: Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Autobots - Freeform, Cybertron, Decepticons - Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 12:44:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 15
Words: 28,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21374359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoraLana/pseuds/LenoraLana
Summary: This was originally posted on Deviantart and fanfiction.net, but I've since removed them from there. I will post it exclusively here now.It is revealed that Sari Sumdac has Decepticon programming within her, which becomes activated... causing her to have an identity crisis and turn against her friends.This work has had several contributors. The concept was created by Katfreak of Deviantart. Two of the other primary co-authors were Pieladyusa of Deviantart and the former Yoketron of Deviantart. Pieladyusa helped me finally finish the last chapter about a year ago, so double kudos to her.
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Sari had been ecstatic when she first arrived on Cybertron with her Autobot friends. She could not take credit for being the first human (or half-human, as the case may be) to go to the planet, since Fanzone had been there before her—even if that was an accident. But being on the world where her Cybertronian ancestors came from, so to speak, was ten times more exhilarating than even being on Earth's moon.

Her general excitement had dampened somewhat, though, when she attended the memorial service for Prowl, her ninja-bot friend. In some ways she was still having trouble accepting his death, especially since it had all happened so quickly. Just before the final battle on Earth, Prowl had been alive and well. Then suddenly… he was just gone, limp and lifeless in Jazz's arms.

Part of her wished dearly that she still had her key. Well, of course she did still have it in her possession, but it was dead and lifeless. She could not use it to bring anyone back to life, like she had Optimus.

At times—especially right now, as she sat on the edge of her berth in the room she was staying in—she wondered if she should have listened more closely to Ratchet. Maybe if she hadn't used the key so soon… maybe she could have brought Prowl back with it. Maybe she shouldn't have been so quick to upgrade herself, because in doing that, the key had been rendered useless.

Come on, you had no way of knowing that your upgrade would drain the last of the key's energy, part of her mind told her. And besides, you were able to help Ratchet bring Arcee's memory back with your upgrades. So in the end it was worth it.

Sari considered those facts for a moment, then sighed. They only brought her a little comfort, really. But maybe it was just one of those cases where things just couldn't go the way you hoped they would.

It just didn't seem fair, though. She was able to bring Optimus back to life, and he was alive and well to this day. Her dad had disappeared for a while, but then he came back to her eventually. So why was it that one of her best friends had to die, and not come back?

She sighed as she pushed herself up off the berth. Frankly, sitting around here thinking about it wasn't making things any better. Prowl wasn't coming back, and she couldn't make him come back. It was the cold hard truth, and she didn't have to like it but she would have to accept it.

She had cried at his memorial service. She didn't feel like crying now; she had exhausted all of her tears. Right now she simply wanted a distraction.

As she left her room and went into the main living area of the building, she spotted Jetfire and Jetstorm standing near the main energon dispenser unit. They seemed to be serving themselves a glass of the brightly colored, pink liquid. Sari wrinkled her nose slightly; ever since her upgrade, she'd been forced to drink some of the substance from time to time, in order to keep her cybernetic systems energized. It was, however, an acquired taste—at least by human standards—and she wasn't sure if she'd ever get used to it. She'd learned to tolerate it, but that was different from actually liking the stuff.

The two brothers had taken Sari under their wing, so to speak, for the time being—until she could determine what she wanted to do on Cybertron, so to speak. She was contemplating going to school, or perhaps trying to find some sort of job. She still got to see her other friends almost every day, but they were pretty busy with other business these days.

After all, just because Megatron had been captured, it didn't mean there weren't other Decepticons out there to capture or stop from causing trouble. Part of Sari wished that she was out there with her friends, helping them right now.

Just then, Jetstorm noticed her and said something to his brother. Sari couldn't hear it because she was too far away and he was speaking softly, but she knew that they were both aware of her presence now. So she took a few steps toward them. "Hey, guys," she said, forcing herself to smile even though she didn't feel cheery. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Jetstorm shrugged.

"Getting some energon, that is all," Jetfire said in way of agreement. "Would you like some?"

Sari didn't really want some. But she simply shrugged and said, "Sure, why not."

Jetstorm got a smaller glass for her, filled it up, and then bent down to hand it to her. "Why does you look so sad?" he asked her as she took the glass.

Sari stared down at the bright pink liquid, but didn't take a drink. Frankly in some ways, she really didn't feel like talking to the jet brothers about what was on her mind. She had already talked to Bumblebee and Bulkhead, even Optimus and Ratchet about it. They missed Prowl too, and they tried their best to cheer her up and get her to accept the cold hard fact that Prowl was gone, and move on. But it just wasn't that easy. Sari had never lost anyone before.

They had always ended up coming back, one way or another…

"I'm okay," she finally said, hoping they would drop the subject. Then to try and prevent having to say anymore, she tipped her head back and took a giant gulp from her glass. She grimaced at the taste but managed no to cough. Frankly, energon was a strange substance, at least to her. Somehow or other, it had an "electrical" taste to it, but it slid down her throat as smoothly and harmlessly as water. She wasn't sure if that was because she was half Cybertronian or what.

Before either of the jet brothers could say anything, their commlinks chimed and they answered them in unison. After listening both of them said together, "Sir yes Sir! On our way!"

"Hey whoa, what's going on?" Sari asked as they ran past her, toward the door.

"We are needed in the city!" Jetfire answered as he opened the door.

"There is a Decepticon there, on the loose!" Jetstorm added.

"Hey, let me come with you!" Sari exclaimed, setting her half-empty glass aside on one of the chairs and rushing after them.

The twins exchanged glances, then shrugged. They stepped outside, then held the door open, waiting for her to join them. Sari took a moment to grab her jetpack, then she went outside, activating it. The twins then transformed into their jet modes, taking off into the sky, with Sari flying after them.


	2. Chapter 2

Short Circuit glanced around warily as he ran. He knew that he had been spotted, and that everyone now knew he was in the area. He was now nothing more than a wanted Decepticon, but if he could find that which he came here for, in the end it wouldn't matter if he was caught or not. All that mattered was completing his objective.

In many ways, what he was looking for was an old pet project, so to speak. Short Circuit was a former lab assistant to Wingstun, who'd created what was known as Protoform X. Basically, this protoform was a new kind of Decepticon, and a prototype. Small, but very powerful, containing some very unique abilities.

The protoform had been transwarped to a random location about nine years ago, in order to prevent the Autobots from discovering it when they'd found Wingstun's lab. The Autobot Elite Guard had taken everything in the lab, including most of Wingstun's supplies, but Short Circuit had managed to get away with most of his boss's research and records.

After making a clean getaway, Short Circuit had destroyed everything he'd gotten away with, not wanting it to fall into the wrong hands. But he always kept an optic out for Protoform X, in the hopes that he would one day find it and enable it to fulfill its original programming. There was still one thing he had saved from the records, after all; the activation codes. Those were buried deep within his processor, and only he could access them.

And so he was more than delighted when he'd discovered that a young femme bot who fit the description of Protoform X's small and slim build had arrived on Cybertron. It was a bit… baffling, not to mention surprising, to find that she was apparently a techno-organic now. But considering that she'd apparently wound up on a planet filled with organic life, it wasn't all that surprising that the protoform had gotten contaminated with biological components.

Regardless, Short Circuit knew that the moment he'd been waiting for was at hand; he was about to enable Protoform X to be what she'd always been designed to be. A Decepticon, and a powerful one.

He simply needed to play his cards right, that was all. It didn't take him long to realize that he was being chased by the two flying Autobots, and he'd noticed the familiar-looking, little one in tow behind them. He smiled, then broke into a run. If he did this right, he would be able to fulfill his mission.

At first he led them on a chase, not wanting to make what he was up to obvious. But after putting on a grand show of running down several streets, he permitted himself to get cornered in an alleyway, where he nearly ran smack into a dead end in his vehicle mode. He then transformed, only to get knocked back against the wall by a whirlwind from the blue Autobot.

Then both of the Autobots set down, holding their arms at the ready, prepared to fire their powers again if he made any threatening moves—or made any move to escape. The little femme that Short Circuit sought landed gracefully on the ground behind the brothers, then shut off her jetpack.

Short Circuit raised his servos. "Alright, alright, you got me," he murmured. "I won't put up a fuss."

"Looks like we got him good, brother!" Jetfire exclaimed.

"That we did!" Jetstorm acknowledged.

Sari took a couple of steps forward, then moved in between the two brothers, peering curiously at the Decepticon. "Who is that?" she asked, squinting her eyes slightly. She thought she felt something deep within her mind—or spark?—that told her… somehow… that this 'bot seemed familiar, at least vaguely.

The Jet brothers exchanged glances, then shrugged, saying that they did not know.

Short Circuit held out one of his hands—while keeping the other high above his head. "I am Short Circuit," he said slowly. He then tried to put on a charming smile. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance… little femme."

Short Circuit… Sari narrowed her eyes as she ran that name through her mind. Why did he, and that name, seem so familiar somehow? It tickled her mind like an itch that was just out of reach, or like a word that was just on the tip of your tongue but you couldn't think of it.

Just then, a soft glow began to emanate from Short Circuit's head, just above his optics, and then a data stream burst out of him, flowing straight from him into Sari's head, going straight and deep into her processor.

Sari shrieked and stumbled backward, and the dataflow ceased within half a second. The Jet brothers reacted instantly, with Jetstorm sending a burst of wind that slammed Short Circuit against the wall again, while Jetfire leaped forward to slap a pair of stasis cuffs onto him.

Short Circuit yelped, but then he went limp and surrendered to his predicament. He'd done his job, finally; he had succeeded. That was all that mattered.

Meanwhile Jetfire and Jetstorm went to check on Sari, while keeping watch on their Decepticon prisoner out of the corner of their optics.

"Sari, are you okay?" Jetfire asked.

Sari was lying on the ground, flat on her back, groaning and thrashing about. She appeared to be in agony, and her entire body looked like it was trying to transform into her armor/battle mode, although there seemed to be something wrong.

"We must get her help, straight away!" Jetstorm said. Jetfire nodded in agreement.

Both of them transformed and merged together into their duo, larger form, and then the merged bot picked up the helpless form of Short Circuit with one servo, and gently scooped up the ailing Sari in the other.

As the merged bot took off out of the alleyway, his duo self made a decision; get Sari help first, then drop off the 'con at a secure holding place.

0o0o0o0o0

"Crud…" Ratchet muttered as he looked over Sari's limp form. She was stable for the moment, since he'd just administered a heavy sedative, but he still wasn't sure what was wrong with her.

Jetfire and Jetstorm had stopped by his place just long enough to drop off Sari and briefly explain the situation, then they had both headed off to take care of the Decepticon they'd captured. And thus, Ratchet had given her a quick look over, and found that the only way he could stop whatever was happening to her was to sedate her.

And right now, at this very moment, Sari seemed fine… just in a deep sleep. She was laying on her back on the berth within the spare room of the building, one that was usually reserved for guests. Right now, however, it was being used as a substitute medical room, at least until he could figure out what was wrong with Sari and figure out how to fix her.

Or if he could not… then he might have to take her to the Cybertronian hospital in Iacon in order to get her more help. Plus they had access to equipment there that he didn't have at home.

In truth, he wasn't sure what was wrong with his little friend, but he hoped that some time and rest would help her return to normal. But he would simply have to wait and see when she awoke. According to the Jet Twins, she had been hit with some sort of data stream from the Decepticon that went into her processor, apparently similar to the way that Omega Supreme's access codes had gone from Arcee's processor to Ratchet's processor all those stellar cycles ago. Only this seemed very different from that situation; Sari seemed to have a virus or something that was affecting her circuitry.

"Ratchet, is she alright?"

The medic turned at the sound of the familiar voice, knowing it was Arcee. "I don't know yet," he said with a sigh. "Right now, she's stable, but I have to wait until the sedative wears off before I know anything for sure."

"I'm sure you've done all you can for her," Arcee said, trying to reassure him. Ratchet, however, didn't feel all that reassured, because he got a nagging feeling like he was missing something. Could it be that if he looked deeper somehow, the answer to the problem would reveal itself? Still, he offered Arcee a small smile for her benefit.

She placed her servos on his shoulders and then permitted him to pull her close against his chassis. "There's something on your mind," she whispered softly as he held her.

He sighed. Was there nothing he could keep from her? He then smiled a little, but it faded quickly as he started talking. "It's just… I have a nagging feeling in the pit of my spark that there's something right under my nose that I should be noticing, or maybe there's something about her… some possibility that I've thought, at least subconsciously, but dismissed."

She cocked her head to one side, never looking away from him. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He knew she wouldn't understand, not when he tried explaining it like that. He wasn't sure if he understood it himself. But for her sake, he tried again. "It's like this… it feels like I should know the answer, but I don't."

"I think everyone feels like that from time to time," Arcee told him softly, placing a gentle hand on the side of his faceplate. "But I still say you did all you could. Now you just have to wait and see."

Ratchet still wasn't so sure. He knew she was right; he had done all he could for her. But nevertheless, the odd nagging feeling in his spark wouldn't leave. Still, for Arcee's sake, he wanted to push it away and forget about it. He'd already given Sari a thorough scan, and there was truly nothing more he could do until she regained consciousness.

"I think it would be best to just leave her be to rest," Ratchet said. "And I could use to get some rest as well."

Arcee smiled. "Then let's go to bed." She pulled back out of his arms and grabbed his right hand. Then, giving it a firm squeeze, she lead him toward their bedroom.

"Actually… I'd rather stay in here," Ratchet admitted after a moment, hesitating. "I'd like to be nearby when she wakes up, in case she has more problems."

Arcee nodded with understanding. "Then we'll rest in here," she said.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sari gasped softly as she regained partial awareness. She clenched and unclenched her fists, trashing about and kicking her legs into the air. It felt like her whole body was trying to twist itself into a pretzel, and she was in pain.

Just then, something inside her changed, and it no longed seemed like everything was trying to twist itself in unnatural ways; it felt more like… something was adjusting itself. Somehow, she realized that the upgrades which Ratchet had bypassed and disabled after she'd first upgraded herself—specifically, after she'd gone berserk—were repairing and re-enabling themselves.

On top of that, something else was changing… or was it repairing itself? She just couldn't tell. But it seemed like a memory of some sort was trying re-assert itself.

Suddenly, whatever was happening to her finished, and she felt different. In fact, it felt like she had woken up from sleep after being in a deep slumber way too long.

Very slowly, she sat up and glanced around the room. She spotted Arcee and Ratchet resting on the floor nearby, holding each other's hands as they slept. She narrowed her eyes at them. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she did recall them being friends, and she remembered liking them a lot. Plus, she had been the one who helped Ratchet figure out how to get Arcee's memory back.

But right now, she had only one thought on her mind, especially as she pushed the other thoughts and memories back: Ratchet and Arcee are enemies.

With that, she scooted herself toward the edge of the berth until her legs hung over, then she pushed herself off and allowed herself to drop lightly to the floor. She then cast a glance toward Ratchet and Arcee, making sure they were still in recharge and hadn't noticed her. They had not moved a bit, so she quietly slipped off.

Once she was out of the room, she slipped off down the hallway, making her way toward the front door. As she went, she passed a shiny, metallic surface on part of the wall. There were several of these panels, mostly used for decorative purposes, and normally Sari wouldn't have paid much heed to them, but something caught her eye.

She paused and peered into the panel she was closet to, getting a good look at her reflection. Indeed, she had changed. She still looked human—her head and face, even her fiery red hair, hadn't changed a bit. But her eyes were now deep red, and her Cybertronian "clothing" or "armor" was now a combination of purple and gray.

Not only that, but there was clearly a Decepticon symbol on her, on the space just below her throat and just above her small breasts.

I am… a Decepticon, she thought, fingering the dark purple symbol with her fingers, and then she turned this way and that to get a better look at herself in the reflective metal surface. It felt… good to be a Decepticon. Not only that but she hadn't realized before just how good her figure looked. She grinned at herself.

However she quickly returned to her senses; she could admire herself in a mirror later if she really wanted to. Right now, she had to get out of here before anyone saw her, and she had things she needed to do. So with that, she darted down the hallway and, moments later, rushed out of the front door.


	3. Chapter 3

Once Sari had made it safely out of the building, she used the energy skates her in feet to dash down the street quickly. Since she was small and moving so fast, anyone who spotted her may have simply thought she was a yellowish streak of light, or maybe they didn't even notice at all.

She then ducked into an alleyway and shut off her energy skates, allowing them to fold back up into her feet. Then she sat down on the ground with her back against the alley wall, proceeding to think.

In truth, she was glad that she had her upgrades back. Ever since she'd first gone berserk immediately after her upgrade with the key, they had been resting dormant and disabled within her after Ratchet had bypassed with.

Apparently, what Ratchet did not know was that her Decepticon programming was designed to handle them, while her organic half could not. And thus, while her human side was dormant, well she still had excellent abilities and talents, but she also had her limitations. But now that her Decepticon programming had been fully enabled, her Cybertronian half had bypassed her human personality and memories, submerging them.

And thus… the old Sari Sumdac was gone, locked up deep inside this new, Decepticon Sari.

The Decepticon Sari had replaced her.

Sari growled under her breath. All of a sudden she hated her name. It was given to her by a human, someone who had a brilliant brain for mathematics, mechanics, physics and science, but was nothing when it came to brute strength or power. That man had merely contaminated her protoform and prevented her from becoming what she should have been from the very start. In fact, he had the audacity to take her in as a daughter and call her his own, keeping her true heritage hidden from her until that fateful day when she'd wounded her elbow and had seen the exposed circuitry.

Disgusting. It was absolutely disgusting. She did not know how her protoform ended up in that man's lab, but she was glad that fate had allowed things to happen the way they had. Otherwise she would have been forced to spend her existence as a pathetic fleshling.

She knew that she was going to change her name, and she was going to change it right now. And so, after a few moments of thought, she finally decided on a new form of identity that seemed to suit her fairly well: Laserspark.

"Yes," she murmured out loud to herself. "My name is now Laserspark."

Satisfied with her new name, she smiled widely. But the grin quickly faded and vanished because she knew that she had things she needed to do.

The first order of business was to free the Decepticon prisoners, and essentially bring about havoc and chaos on Cybertron. And with her newly enabled skills and programming—not to mention the regained use of her upgrades—she was confident that she could pull this off no sweat.

…No sweat? She shook her head, twisting her lip in disgust. It seemed that her human half had rubbed off on her more than she'd thought. Perhaps she should try and figure out some way to get rid of it.

Taking a deep breath, she put up her helmet and faceplate, then activated her energy skates and sped off down the street once again. She knew exactly where she was going.

0o0o0o0o0o0

The security center where the Decepticon prisoners were being held was guarded, but it was nothing Laserspark couldn't handle. After all, they weren't really expecting anything, especially now that quite a few of the Decepticons had been captured, along with Megatron himself.

She doubted she would be able to free Megatron though, at least not easily. He was being held at a more secure location than his underlings. But if she could free a few of his top lieutenants, as well as a few of his other underlings… that might be sufficient to do that which she needed to do.

She crept up toward the back entrance, seeing a single guard standing just outside. With grace and precision, she approaching him from his blind spot and then, once she was close enough, she activated her energy blades, allowing them to extend from her arms, and fired two blasts.

The guard yelped, receiving serious damage to his chassis before he even knew what hit him. In the next instant he collapsed on the ground in a heap of sparks and smoking circuitry. A moment later, all movements and sounds of struggle ceased; he had gone offline. Permanently.

Laserspark quietly approached and glanced down at the Autobot corpse thoughtfully. She had never killed an Autobot before. There had been the time she had thrust her energy blade into Bumblebee when she'd gone out of control after her upgrade, but that was the only time she had seriously harmed an Autobot prior to this—and that had been an accident.

"Good riddance," she muttered at the moved around the corpse and headed toward the door. She then the energy boost in her feet to lift her off the ground, bringing her eye-level with the panel beside the door. She looked at it for a moment, then placed her hand upon it. After scanning it, she determined the correct pass code to gain entry, and so she quickly typed it in.

In response to the code, the door opened and Sari quickly went inside. Now, it was simply a matter of finding the Decepticons she sought, and freeing them.


	4. Chapter 4

Laserspark slowly moved down the hallway, keeping her eyes peeled for a very specific area. She was going to free the Decepticon prisoners, but first she had to find them.

After going down a couple of corridors, she paused in order to try and get her bearings. The building was very large and she was finding it difficult to find her way around.

Just then she spotted a console nearby. After a moment of thought, she decided that she might as well try and use it to figure out where she was going. She could read Cybertronian text, especially now that her Decepticon programming was activated, so maybe she could find a layout of the complex and download it into her circuits.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Back in Ratchet and Arcee's home, Arcee stirred slightly as she slowly awoke from recharge. She felt a bit more refreshed, but like she could still use a bit more sleep.

And thus, she was the first to notice that the berth on which Sari had been on was now vacated. Arcee blinked her optics, staring at the sight, trying to get it to register in her processor. She then stood up and looked around the room, but there was no sign of Sari anywhere.

"Ratchet!" she exclaimed, bending over and gently shaking her bondmate by his shoulders.

He grumbled a bit as he awoke from recharge, but once he saw the look of concern on her features, he quickly snapped out of his fog. "W-what is it?" he asked, getting himself up off the floor.

Arcee pointed toward the berth. "Sari is gone!"

"What?" Ratchet took a couple of steps toward the berth, then growled softly under his breath as he proceeded to look around the room. "We have to find her!" he said. "Let's check the other rooms!"

0o0o0o0o0o0

Laserspark managed to find and download a layout of the complex, taking the data directly into her processor. Now she effectively had a map inside her head.

Then, with the data guiding her footsteps, she found herself walking directly toward the holding cells that she sought. She grinned slightly to herself. In some ways, this was almost too easy.

Just then, an alarm went off. Slag! She thought, glancing around. Either someone had detected her accessing the console without authorization, or a hidden camera had spotted her, or perhaps someone had finally noticed the dead guard outside. Either way, she had to move quickly.

Just as she turned the corner to reach the cells, seeing the Decepticon occupants within, several armed Autobot guards appeared. Gritting her teeth, Laserspark glanced from one end of the corridor to the other, but she was effectively trapped.

She knew that she had a lot of power at her disposal, even in her small form. But could she really take out ten Autobot guards and still be able to free the Decepticon prisoners, without sustaining much energy? Of course, if she could free them, she'd have backup. But it seemed that there were no controls to lower the force-fields on the cells themselves; apparently they were operated from someplace else.

So she was on her own. She couldn't free the prisoners without getting to the control room. She knew where it was, but it wouldn't be easy to get to it now.

The guards had their weapons trained on her, and one of them spoke. "Stay right where you are, and you will not be harmed," he said. "Don't make any sudden moves." It was likely they had seen the dead guard outside, so they knew she was dangerous.

Laserspark decided that things might work more in her favor if she played along… for now. It wasn't like Autobots did anything terrible to their prisoners, not without a trial anyway. So she slowly raised her hands above her head in surrender… for now.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Bumblebee and Bulkhead was just starting another round of ninja gladiator—a game that Bee had insisted on bringing with him from Earth—when they both got a call from Optimus Prime.

"Bumblebee, Bulkhead," the Prime said, "Sari is missing from Ratchet's home, and we're trying to find her."

"Missing?" Bumblebee exclaimed. "What do you mean by 'missing'?"

"Maybe she just went out for a walk or something," Bulkhead suggested.

"No there may be something wrong with her," Optimus told them. "Something strange happened to her earlier where her systems were doing… odd things, and now she's just gone."

"We have to find her!" Bumblebee said, putting down his game controls and forgetting all about Ninja Gladiator; his friend was more important right now. He transformed and headed out, closely followed by Bulkhead.

0o0o0o0o0

Word quickly spread about how Sari had disappeared when there was possibly something wrong with her, and soon everyone who knew Sari—as well as a few who didn't know her—began searching her. But the search did not proceed for very long because Optimus Prime received some disturbing news… which he passed onto everyone else as quickly as he could.

The first ones he told were Bumblebee and Bulkhead. "You don't have to look anymore," the Prime informed them gravely via commlink. "I just found out where she is."

The little yellow mech and the giant green mech came to a skidding halt, transformed out of their vehicle modes into their robotic forms, then activated their commlinks to speak into them.

"Where is she?" Bumblebee demanded. "Is she okay?"

"No… something is very wrong here," Optimus replied. "Sari apparently killed the guard outside of the prison complex and it seemed that she was going toward the Decepticon prisoners when she was captured. The guards think she may have been about to release them."

Bulkhead and Bumblebee exchanged startled glances.

"But Sari would never do that!" Bulkhead said.

"Yeah, it must be some mistake!" Bumblebee added, narrowing his optics. His friend would never do anything like that!

"It gets worse," Optimus went on, "she's got a Decepticon insignia on her now."

Jaws dropping, neither Bumblebee nor Bulkhead could speak. It just… didn't seem possible. Were their audio sensors malfunctioning? Or were their processor glitching up somehow?

"Right now," Optimus continued, "she's being held in one of the cells… near the Decepticons. I'm on my way over there right now."

"We'll meet you there," Bumblebee said, finally finding his voice. Although nothing could ever keep that bot silent for very long anyway. He transformed and took off, leaving a stunned and speechless Bulkhead behind.

It took the giant green mech a few seconds to get over his shock enough to transform and follow.


	5. Chapter 5

Laserspark sat within her prison cell, scowling, her arms folded across her chest. In truth, she could have put up a very good fight against those guards and possibly even escaped, if she'd chosen to. But instead she'd decided to let herself get captured and locked up, because it fit within her plans.

She would lay low for a little while within the cell, then she would escape and break the other Decepticons out when the time was right. After all, one of best tricks to gain full advantage was to allow your enemy—in this case, the Autobots—to think that they had the upper hand in the situation. She would allow them to think she was at their mercy, then she would eventually make her move.

And when her "friends", Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Bulkhead came by to see her within a short period of time after her arrest, she knew that she could use this to her advantage as well. They would no doubt think there was something wrong with her, and wish to help. Sweet and kind, wasn't it? Maybe in a disgustingly pathetic sort of way.

Someday soon, even they will bow before the might of Megatron and the Decepticon rule, she thought with a slight smirk. Then they'll either join the Decepticons or be destroyed. Though maybe if I feel like it… I might be able to get them spared as my personal slaves or something.

"Sari," Optimus Prime spoke up, addressing her from outside the cell.

Laserspark flinched slightly upon hearing that name. Sari was someone else, a weakling who was more human than bot. She was a Decepticon now. However, if her plan was going to work, she needed to play along.

"Hi," she said simply, getting up off the berth and moving toward the cell door to peer out.

"Sari, are you okay?" Bumblebee asked, stooping down to get a better look at her. "We heard you got arrested and we came as soon as we could! You didn't really kill those guards, did you?"

"Um guys… I don't know what happened," Laserspark said slowly, trying her best to look innocent and timid. That's what her old self may have done in a situation like this. "I don't even remember much. One minute I was just… sleeping, then I was here."

The three bots outside her cell exchanged glances.

"But why is there a Decepticon symbol on you?" Bulkhead asked, pointing one of his huge fingers at her.

Oh yes… that definitely complicated things. Laserspark thought fast, then glanced down at the said symbol. Then she gasped in surprise, feigning what she hoped was a convincing look of horror. "It's… it's…. EW! How did that get there?" She then looked up at Optimus, then hastily backed away from the cell door, making the kinds of noises that Sari always made when she was about to cry.

"Hey now, we'll get this straightened out as soon as possible," Optimus said in a gentle, reassuring tone. "It's possible that that Decepticon you and the jet brothers caught did something to you."

"Maybe we should take her to Ratchet," Bulkhead suggested.

"That's a good idea," Optimus murmured. "He might be able to take another look at her and figure out what's wrong."

"Don't worry Sari," Bumblebee said, giving his friend one of his warmest smiles. "We'll figure out what's happening and get you back to normal as soon as possible!"

"Thanks, Bumblebee… I know you will," "Sari" said, sniffling and wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve. On the outside, she was Sari to them, their friend who simply needed help to undo what Short Circuit had done to her. But inwardly she was Laserspark, a Decepticon at heart, and she would simply use them and this entire situation to get what she wanted.


	6. Chapter 6

Laserspark watched silently as her "friends" left. Oh sure, they considered her a friend, and she was going along with the idea. But of course it was all an act on her end; she simply wanted to use them, nothing more.

She peered out through the cell's force field as Optimus, Bee and Bulkhead moved down the corridor and out of sight. She knew that she had them duped, and that they were probably going to visit Ratchet. They would probably also try and speak with Ultra Magnus in order to have her examined. Indeed, if they thought that she was still their dear ol' Sari with simply some Decepticon tampering on the surface; things would run a whole lot more smoothly.

Now of course all she could do was wait. Sighing, she slowly walked back over to her berth and lay down on it, staring up at the ceiling as she folded her arms behind her head. She just hoped that this wouldn't take too long; she disliked inaction.

Besides, it was boring inside a prison cell.

0o0o0o0o0o0

By the time Optimus could arrange an audience with Ultra Magnus within the Magnus's private office, he already had quite an entourage who wanted to go with him. Ratchet and Arcee wanted to see Sari, Jetfire and Jetstorm also wanted to see her, and Bulkhead and Bumblebee most definitely wanted to see her.

Optimus found himself leading the way ahead of the crowd toward Ultra Magnus's office, although he had already asked everyone to wait for him outside the building. After all, they wanted to see Sari anyway, not necessarily the Magnus—they just wanted to know what the Magnus would have to say about everything. And they were respectful and polite enough to agree to wait outside while Optimus went in to talk to the Autobot leader.

As they all pulled up outside the building, they all transformed from their vehicle modes into their bipedal forms. Optimus grunted a little as his body unfolded and twisted about to get back into his robot mode; sometimes it seemed like his wings would get in the way whenever he transformed into a truck. It was manageable, but a bit awkward and uncomfortable at times.

"Wish me luck," Optimus murmured out loud as he stepped inside the building. After a brief word with the receptionist, he was told to go right into the private office.

"Optimus Prime," Ultra Magnus greeted from behind his large desk. It seemed that he had been busy sorting through a collection of datapads—no doubt mostly screenwork he had to fill out.

"Ultra Magnus," Optimus greeted, bowing his head a little. "I think you know why I'm here."

The Magnus nodded. "You're here about the techno-organic," he said. "Frankly, Optimus, I'm very surprised at her behavior, especially since she has been a loyal part of your team for some time now." He narrowed his optics slightly. "At least that is the impression you gave me of her, once I was back on my feet and returned to active duty."

Optimus nodded. "Sir, I'm not sure what happened to her, but when I talked to her in her cell… it seemed like she was still herself and unaware of anything that has happened. I think the Decepticons may have infected her with some kind of virus or something like that. I would like to request that Ratchet give her a thorough examination."

Ultra Magus looked thoughtful. "Granted," he finally said. "Have the medic give her a thorough look over—make sure he checks out her programming and her body for any abnormalities. If the problem can be found and purged, then she may be released. If not, then she has to stay in the cell until further notice."

"Understood," Optimus said. "But I'm confident that we'll find out what the problem is and remove it."

"I would like you to bear one thing in mind," Ultra Magnus added, leaning forward a little. "It was mentioned to me that no one knows where Sari's protoform came from. Therefore… there is really no telling what she is, how she got on Earth in the first place, or… well, anything, really. For all we know she might be a failed Decepticon experiment, and some buried programming might have become activated somehow or other."

Optimus frowned. He didn't want to believe anything like that could be true. After all, Sari had been their best human friend ever since they had first come out of stasis on Earth. He just couldn't believe she was now a Decepticon—and the way she'd spoken to him back in the cell had proven that. Despite what she looked like on the outside, she was still Sari. And they would find a way to help her.

"I'll pass your concerns along to Ratchet," he finally said, then bowed his head.

Ultra Magnus nodded, then waved a hand of dismissal. With that, Optimus turned and left the office.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Laserspark scowled at the guard who was pacing up and down the hallway outside her cell. It wasn't like she had much else to do at the moment. In some ways, she was grateful for this because it gave her something to focus on, and if nothing else, it felt good just to be irritated at something. It helped pass the time in some ways, and it sure beat staring at the dull gray ceiling.

Part of her was so tempted to try and short out the force field and blast the guard. It would certainly be amusing, at least. But she had to remember to keep herself in check, so that she wouldn't give away her true intentions—or her full abilities, for that matter.

Frankly, she had several factors in her favor right now. Since she was so small, the Autobots seemed to feel that she wasn't much of a threat, especially since she had allowed herself to be captured so easily. Never mind that she had killed a guard outside in order to get in, apparently; although maybe that could be dismissed as simply assuming the guard hadn't been paying attention.

Furthermore, no one had bothered to disable any of her weapons, apparently because she had been captured so easily and hadn't put up any sort of fight or anything. She hadn't even tried to escape, plus she'd put on a convincing act for Optimus and the others that she was still the old Sari.

In some ways… it insulted her that apparently they felt this way. Just because she was small, it didn't mean she was made of glass or had inferior powers. And it disgusted her that Optimus and the others wanted to help her. Well, all she had to do was wait a bit longer, and then she would show all of them who was really powerful. She smirked at the thought. Yes… just think on that thought, relish it… it would keep her going.

She rolled over onto her side so that she was facing the wall, not wanting anyone to see the big, evil grin that had formed on her face as she continued to think these thoughts.

0o0o0o0o0

Once Optimus emerged from the Magnus's private office, he chose to simply tell everyone everything that was said in his conversation with Ultra Magnus, just to get it all out in the open.

"Hmm," Ratchet said as he touched his chin thoughtfully. "Well I don't know about Sari being a Decepticon experiment or whatever, but I think she definitely needs a thorough examination. And now that she has stabilized—at least I'm assuming she has—it will be a lot easier for me to look her over."

"Alright then," Optimus said, "let's go to the prison."

Everyone else ended up going along too, this time trailing along behind Optimus and Ratchet in their respective vehicle modes. Sari certainly had many friends, that was much was certain. All of them cared about her well-being.

0o0o0o0o0

Laserspark glanced up when she heard someone approaching. Actually she already knew someone was coming a few moments ago, because her internal sensors were very sensitive. It was none other than Ratchet.

The large, red-and-white medic paused just outside the doorway, peering in through the force field. He had some of his tools with him, and he appeared to be ready to give her a thorough examination, right here and now.

"Hey there, Ratchet," she said slowly, in that soft gentle voice that Sari would always use when she was going through a rough time.

Ratchet's gruff features smiled ever so slightly. Indeed, it certainly did seem like Sari… although the Decepticon appearance was a bit unnerving for the old bot. "Hey there, kiddo," he said, his voice gravelly as usual, yet it held a Grandfatherly gentleness.

It actually disgusted Laserspark, but she had to keep putting on the Sari act for just a little longer.

"How are you feeling?" the old medic asked her.

"I don't know, but whatever's wrong with me, I want to get back to normal as soon as possible!" Laserspark exclaimed, even holding her arms above her head as she spoke, in order to emphasize her words. Again, a very Sari-like gesture. "And I want THIS off my chest, as soon as possible!" she added, looking at the Decepticon symbol on her chest and touching it indicatively with her fingertips.

"Don't worry, that's what I'm here for," Ratchet told her with a small, re-assuring smile. He then indicated for the guard to lower the force-field, allowing him to step inside.

Just as the old doc-bot took out his medical scanner, Laserspark blurted, "Wait! W-where are Jetfire and Jetstorm? I really, really need to talk to them."

Ratchet fiddled with the medical scanner in his servo, adjusting a few settings to be more suitable for scanning a techno-organic. "They're just outside, actually," he said. "In fact, all of your friends are waiting out there. They all wanted to see you, but Optimus and myself decided that wouldn't be such a good idea. At least, not until I had time to give you an examination."

Laserspark frowned. "You mean you don't trust me?" she said, her eyes widening in Sari's puppy-dog look. "Come on, Ratchet, it's me. You know you can trust me."

"I know I can," Ratchet said, glancing up from the scanner and lowering the device. "But the fact is… you killed a guard out there today. I don't know whether it was intentional or not—"

Laserspark's eyes began to tear up. She had to will herself to cry, but even Sari had had some practice at that, so it wasn't too difficult. "So you don't trust me!" she exclaimed, then got up and stomped to the opposite end of the cell—which really wasn't all that far, but she did press herself against the opposite wall and proceeded to sob into it.

Ratchet opened his mouth and closed it, then groaned to himself. Obviously he realized that he had said something terrible, something that would definitely hurt Sari—if it really was her. She definitely had him fooled, and even though part of her hated this act, another part of her took sick pleasure in it. She made the old war veteran hurt, after all; that was a good thing, in her mind.

"Sari… look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Ratchet said, using the same gentle tone he'd used when he'd first told her that he cared about her and the Earth, and a similar tone to the one he'd used when he had lost her key. "We just need to find out what's wrong with you so we can get that symbol off your chest and get you back to normal."

Laserspark sniffled, and slowly turned back to face him. "I-I know," she said. "It's just… I'm so upset that I killed somebody. I don't even remember what happened."

Ratchet set the scanning device down on the edge of her berth, then he slowly leaned down until he was more optic-level with her. "Sari," he said to her, "I believe in you. What you say right now proves to me that you didn't kill that guard intentionally, and I don't want you to feel guilty about it. Whatever happened… the Decepticons are responsible, and they must have put some sort of virus in you. You are not responsible."

"You really think so?" Laserspark asked, looking up at him with wide, tear-filled, innocent-looking red eyes.

Ratchet nodded. "I do."

"Then can I get out of here?" Laserspark was careful not to sound too eager.

"Well…"

"Come on, I have been in control of myself so far! It won't happen again!" Laserspark pleaded.

"You seem to be yourself," Ratchet said, eyeing her with concern and a small amount of wariness. "In fact… well, it's hard to tell without a thorough examination, but you still seem to be Sari on the inside despite your Decepticon appearance." He sighed. "I don't have the authority to release you, but maybe Optimus and I can… negotiate your release. Though someone will have to watch you at all times."

He cocked his head to one side in a thoughtful manner. "I will admit I would prefer to examine you back in a proper examining room instead of in this cell. I'd have access to all the tools and equipment I'd need there."

Laserspark nodded. "I really want to get out of here," she said. "I'll stay in control of myself, I promise."

Ratchet nodded slightly. "I'll go talk to Optimus." He moved out through the doorway, giving the guard the signal to lower it so he could get out of the cell. He then paused to look at her. "Everything will be alright," he assured her. "I'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." With that, he left and then the force field went back up, once again blocking the door.

Laserspark watched him go, then she collapsed on the berth again, knowing there was once again nothing to do but wait. Her foot then hit something, and that something was then knocked off the bed and clattered on the floor. Curious and slightly startled, Laserspark leaned toward the edge of the berth to see what it is.

Apparently Ratchet had forgotten his portable scanner. Curious, Laserspark got up and leaned down, snatching it up. Yes indeed, this was his scanner… the very scanner that he was going to use to examine her.

A sly, evil grin slowly spread across her features. She then turned it on and began to tamper with its programming and settings. Perhaps if she was careful enough, she could tamper the device so that it would either detect nothing wrong with her… or lead the old doc-bot on a proverbial wild goose chase when he tried to use it to examine her.

If she was careful enough… he might never know she'd done anything with it.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"I… don't know," Optimus Prime said with a frown as he spoke with Ratchet in the doorway of the prison complex. He really did want to believe that Sari was alright, but he also knew that it was important to take precautions. "I still remember the warning that Ultra Magnus gave, about being cautious just to be on the safe side."

"Prime, I know that it's a good idea to be cautious, but I think this is for the best," Ratchet said earnestly. "Believe me, I spoke with her, and she even feels bad that she killed the guard, and she doesn't even remember it. She feels terrible about it, and we have to make sure she doesn't feel responsible."

"Can't you give her a quick examination inside her cell?" Optimus asked.

"I could, but it would be better to do it where I have all of my equipment handy," Ratchet replied.

"Hmmm. Well, I guess I can go and ask Ultra Magnus." Optimus cocked his head one side, narrowing his optics slightly. "But… did you say she asked to see Jetfire and Jetstorm?"

"Yeah, she did."

"She didn't ask to see Bumblebee, or Bulkhead… or even myself?"

"…Come to think of it… no."

"Hmm," Optimus purred, finding it slightly strange. Then he shrugged. "Well, I'll go talk to Ultra Magnus, like I said, and… I'll let you know what happens."


	7. Chapter 7

Optimus Prime's talk with Ultra Magnus had gone smoothly. The Autobot leader was wary and skeptical, but upon hearing the insistence from both Optimus and Ratchet that Sari seemed to be herself, despite her Decepticon appearance, he agreed to let them take the little femme out of the prison.

"But she will need to be watched at all times," Ultra Magnus warned, "even when she is in recharge. We have no idea if the Decepticon programming may resurface again, or what may trigger it."

"We'll have someone keep an optic on her at all times," Optimus assured the Magnus.

Ultra Magnus nodded warily, fingering the handle on his hammer subconsciously. "I want more than that," he said thoughtfully. "You and your friends may watch her as well, but I also want a pair of guards to accompany her at all times. Since she killed a guard, we can't afford to take any chances."

Optimus said nothing, he merely nodded in submission to the Magnus's wishes. In many ways, the Prime felt that the extra precautions were unnecessary… but then again, could he really say that? Frankly… they did not know what Sari was capable of, should the programming re-assert itself.

Ultra Magnus made the necessary arrangements for a pair of guards to accompany Sari at all times, then Optimus Prime left to head to the prison. The Prime was going to go with the guards, along with Ratchet, to escort her back to the home that Ratchet and Arcee lived, so that the old doc-bot could finally give her an examination.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Getting Sari from the prison cell to Ratchet's house proved to be smooth and uneventful. Sari sat in Ratchet's front seat, just she had done many times while they were back on Earth. Optimus followed just behind Ratchet, and one of the guard escorts followed behind him, while the other stayed in front of Ratchet.

Once they arrived at Ratchet's home, Sari got out and all four of her escorts transformed.

Then Laserspark—who still had everyone fooled into thinking she was still their sweet little Sari—allowed Ratchet to pick her up into his arms and carry her in. Once again, the grandfatherly approach from the old bot. The curious part of Laserspark wondered if he had ever had any sparklings of his own…

Laserspark shoved the thought away. What did that matter? Why should she care if Ratchet had had any children? She shouldn't care about that sort of thing at all.

Once they went into the building, one of the guards positioned himself just inside the doorway while the other one proceeded to stay close to Sari at all times, keeping an optical sensor on her. He seemed rather wary, but since Sari seemed harmless enough he seemed to gradually relax more and more.

Arcee was ecstatic when she first saw Sari and greeted her with a warm smile and a friendly greeting. Laserspark, still putting on the act, greeting her back just as warmly.

Finally Ratchet escorted her to the room he was going give her a checkup in. The guard stood just inside the doorway of the room, while Optimus and Arcee remained in the outer room near the other guard.

Ratchet looked at his portable scanner, checking the settings. He had left it in the cell with Sari, and she'd given it to him when he and Optimus had returned to release her from the cell. He hadn't had a chance to look at it… until now.

"Is everything okay, Ratchet?" the little femme asked, looking up at him from the berth where he had set her a few moments ago.

"Hmm." Ratchet narrowed his optics and glanced from Sari to the device in his servo then back at Sari again. "I'd say this scanner has been tampered with."

"What?"

Ratchet leaned forward, bringing his faceplate closer to Sari's. "I'll have you know that I left this in the cell on purpose when I left. I didn't forget it," he told her firmly. "I really did believe you were Sari, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid or that I'm willing to take chances. The old Sari would have left this alone. But you… you've done something with it."

"What do you mean?" Laserspark demanded. "I haven't done anything with it."

"Yes you have," Ratchet told her. "Its circuitry and settings have been modified to take inaccurate readings of your techno-organic systems." He narrowed his optics until they were slits of sapphire light. "I still don't know what's going on here. Maybe the Decepticon programming emerged again and made you do it, or…" His voice cracked slightly. "Or you are simply fooling me."

"Ratchet, I don't remember anything!" Laserspark insisted, willing her eyes to fill with tears. "Maybe I tampered with it, but I don't remember doing it!"

"Sari, at this point I don't know what to believe, but I feel that I can't trust you. And if what you're saying is true, then you can't trust yourself either," Ratchet murmured. "I'm going to sedate you for both our safety, and give you a thorough look-over right now."

It was right then when Laserspark's red optics began to glow like fiery rubies, and then she transformed into her battle-mode, holding up her arms with her blade-weapons at the ready. "Back off," she growled, in a voice that was still Sari's, but it held a ruthlessness that was completely unlike her.

"Sari!" Ratchet snapped, and the guard behind him raised his weapon to fire. But that was the last move the guard ever made; twin beams of hot-blue energy blasted from Sari's arms and landed squarely in the bot's chest.

"NO!" Ratchet yelled, immediately moving toward the fallen guard. Being a medic, it was his instinct and his duty to assist those who'd been wounded. The guard had a nasty injury on his chest, even in spite of the heavy armor there. Sari had become quite powerful indeed… although Ratchet was well aware of what the little femme was capable of.

"You'll be alright, I just need to do a bit of re-wiring here," Ratchet told the guard. He could hear footsteps approaching, and knew that the others were coming.

Laserspark heard them coming as well. She glanced around frantically, then promptly turned and blasted a hole in the wall, making a way for escape. She no longer had her jetpack, since it had been confiscated, but she did take off with great speed using the energy skates in her feet.

Optimus, Arcee, and the second guard came into the room just after Sari had vanished.

"Holy Primus!" Arcee exclaimed, looking at the scene with widened optics. "Ratchet, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," came the doc-bot's gruff reply. "But I can't say the same for this bot. Come on, help me get him onto the berth."

"Arcee, help him," Optimus said. He then turned to the other guard, the one who was still standing. "You and me are going after Sari," he told him. The guard nodded, then the two of them took off toward the front door.


	8. Chapter 8

Ultra Magnus soon received word of what happened, and he gave Optimus and the others sort of an "I told you show" look when he saw each of them. He did not say those words, but his meaning was clear enough. And the fact of the matter was, everyone knew he was right; they should have been more careful, and they shouldn't have let Sari dupe them like that.

But seriously, what could anyone expect? Sari was their friend, and they loved her like a little sister. She had helped them a lot, they had gone through many different things together, and she was always so sweet. It was nearly impossible to conceive that she could be against them now.

And in the end… it didn't hurt anyone worse than it hurt Bumblebee.

The little yellow bot seemed to make it his own personal mission to go off and try to hunt down Sari. He even went so far as to shut off his commlink so that no one could contact him or track him quite as easily. Oh sure, they probably knew where he was going and what he was up to, and they could track down his energy signature if they really wanted to. But for now, he was going solo, to get his best friend back.

He sped off down the road, tires screeching across the smooth, hard surface as he attempted to locate Sari. His internal scanners stayed alert for any trace of her energy signature. He just hoped that he could find her, and reason with her, before anyone else found her. He knew that the Elite Guard was out looking for her now; she had killed one guard and nearly killed another right in front of Ratchet, after all. She was a wanted Decepticon now.

Bumblebee kept searching for several mega-cycles, but he couldn't find her anywhere. But he was too stubborn to give up. He might not have had Prowl's ninja stealth or patience, but one thing that made up for it in Bumblebee was sheer determination and stubbornness. Not to mention a touch of pride.

In some ways, even though he truly cared about getting Sari back safely, part of him also had this idealistic notion of finding her and rescuing her, saving her from even herself. Being her knight in shining yellow armor, so to speak. And his shiny yellow paintjob had a black racing stripe to boot. What better way could a femme possibly ask to be rescued?

Suddenly he became aware that he was being followed. No, someone was making an effort to catch up to him; a couple of familiar figures in the air, in fact. He tried to speed up in order to get ahead and away from them, but their jet modes caught up with him easily.

He made one wrong turn and went into an alleyway that led to a dead end. He screeched to a halt, stopping mere inches from the metallic wall.

Jetfire and Jetstorm landed on the ground behind him, having transformed into their robot modes and dropped down. Bumblebee transformed and turned to face them.

"What?" the yellow bot exclaimed, throwing his servos into the air. "Can't a bot just go out on a joyride without being followed?"

"The Magnus says we should find you and detain you, so you doesn't bring harm to yourself," Jetfire said.

"And Optimus Prime is in agreement!" Jetstorm added.

"Yeah well, who says I'm going to hurt myself? I'm just out for a ride!"

"Then why has you turned off your commlink?" Jetfire asked.

"Uh… because I don't feel like talking right now."

It was obvious the twins didn't believe him. They were young and somewhat naïve, but not that naïve. However, before anyone could say anything, a familiar figure stepped out of nowhere, just behind the twins.

"Sari!" Bumblebee exclaimed, causing the twins to start and then to glance behind themselves.

Laserspark, having come out of her hiding place, knew that this was her lucky moment. In truth, she had been following the jet twins, who had been following Bumblebee, as the yellow bot had been trying to look for her, no doubt. It was a most amusing little circus, although now the fun and games were about to end. It was time to get serious.

"Sorry, Autobot," Laserspark said, and smirked as he flinched. She'd never called him that before. "But I don't have time for you." With that, she raised her hands and fired something at the jet brothers.

Jetfire and Jetstorm yelped and clutched at their processors, moaning. Sari hadn't fired a weapon at them, but individual data streams. Much like the same one that Short Circuit had used on her to enable her buried Decepticon programming.

"Sari!" Bumblebee exclaimed, dashing forward. "What are you doing?"

Laserspark fired a ball of blue-white energy into his chest, sending the yellow bot crashing against the alley wall. "I'm not Sari anymore," she spat. "It's Laserspark, now."

"Sari!" Bee moaned, trying to get up. His chassis had a wound in it now, and it was sparking and dripping black fluid. "No!" He reached toward her with his servo, looking desperate, almost pathetic.

"Puh-lease," Laserspark said, rolling her eyes. "And I thought I was bad when I was putting on those cutesy Sari acts to fool you guys. Though I have to hand it to you, Ratchet isn't as easily fooled as I thought he would be. But," she waved a dismissive hand, "it's not like that's doing you guys any good right now."

She then turned toward the jet brothers, who seemed to be recovering. Bee looked at them as well, and the yellow bot gasped in horror at what he saw. Jetfire and Jetstorm now had red optics, which clashed against the red Autobot symbols on their chests.

Bumblebee turned back to look at Sari. "What have you done to them?" he demanded.

"I simply brought out what was in them all along," Laserspark replied. "Just like this is the real me, who's been lying dormant inside Sari's shell for so long." She placed a hand on her chest for emphasis.

"These two," she went on, pointing at the jet brothers, "were upgraded with technology from Starscream, right? So, deep down, they've always had Decepticon programming in them. I just brought it out." She looked at Bumblebee fully now, grinning smugly.

"Now," she said, glancing at the twins, "take him." She pointed at Bee. "We're taking him prisoner."

"As you say, sister," Jetfire murmured, and Jetstorm nodded in agreement. Then the two of them moved in unison to heft the injured form of Bumblebee off the ground.

"This is too sweet," Laserspark said, in a very Sari-like manner.

Bumblebee winced. He had no way of knowing if the real Sari was still poking out from time to time, or if she was simply doing this to taunt him.

Laserspark smirked as she glanced over her shoulder, at the Jet Twins. Both of them were helping each other carry Bumblebee, who was now incapacitated with a mouth clamp and a pair of stasis cuffs on his wrist. The yellow bot was now completely immobile, and for once he had no choice but to be completely silent.

"Okay," Laserspark said her voice soft but firm as they crept up toward the prison. She wanted to emphasize her points, but she did not want any of them to be discovered. "We slip in, and I use my powers to hack into their computer systems and shut down all the power and security. That will enable me to free the Decepticons. I want you two to wait outside for me. That way, if something goes wrong, I can simply tell the Autobots that you have Bumblebee as a hostage."

Bumblebee, despite being immobilized and unable to speak, managed to make a sound through the mouth clamp. No intelligible words could be deciphered through it, but nevertheless he managed to express himself well enough. The moan he made, along with the way he drooped in the Twins' grasp, showed just how disheartened he was by the turn of events.

Laserspark took notice of this. In truth, Sari could always tell when Bumblebee was feeling down. She could always tell when any of her Autobot friends were feeling down or depressed. She was very empathic toward her friends. But even though Laserspark was able to detect the sorrow and sadness, using Sari's memories and insights, she held no sympathy for the yellow Autobot.

In fact, the only thing she did was pause in her stride, turn to look toward the captive Autobot, and crooned a little, "Aw what's the matter, Bumblebee? Don't like seeing your little pal going Decepticon?"

She then laughed—a wicked, cold laugh that was so unlike Sari that Bumblebee winced and offlined his optics. "Don't worry, Bee," she said. "When this is all over… I'll still let you drive me places, sometimes, if you choose to be a good bot and swap that red symbol for a purple one." She indicated the Decepticon symbol on her chest.

Bumblebee was now looking at her again, and although he still couldn't speak, his expression—especially his optics—said it all. He was openly defiant and opposed to the idea, yet he also felt an extreme sense of despair. A muffled noise forced itself out through the mouth clamp, and in some ways Bumblebee seemed to be saying, "Come on Sari, I know you're in there somewhere!"

"Come on," Laserspark told the Twins, "let's keep going."

Ever since they had been reprogrammed, Jetfire and Jetstorm had been very silent, almost like zombies. They could still talk of course, but they had lost quite a bit of their chatty nature and their youthful enthusiasm. Now they were only focused on the task at hand, nothing more and nothing less.

When they got up close to the prison, Laserspark gestured for the twins to keep Bumblebee with them and hide behind a nearby trash compactor. Then, taking a deep breath, she prepared to make her move.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Optimus and his companion—the guard who had been assigned to watch Sari—searched around the entire area of Ratchet's home but they didn't find a trace of her. Not only that, but Optimus received word over his commlink that apparently the Jet Twins had gone missing.

This was when something clicked in Optimus's processor. Sari, when she had been in her cell, had asked to see Jetfire and Jetstorm instead of him, Bumblebee, Bulkhead or even Ratchet. That had been strange for Sari, and now that the Jet brothers had apparently vanished soon after Sari escaped… that couldn't be a coincidence.

On top of that, Bumblebee was no longer responding to any attempts at communication, so something was definitely going on.

At one point, when Optimus and his guard companion split up, he decided to play on his hunch; he headed directly toward the prison.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

This time, Laserspark managed to slip inside of the prison without killing any guards. She simply did not want to waste her time on any of them, plus going in through one of the doors would have been too obvious. So she simply found a way to crawl through one of the vents that led into the complex. And since the building had been designed to keep out intruders that were normally two stories high, a little techno-organic like Laserspark could slip through the narrow vents easily.

Of course, for her the "narrow" vents left her about three inches of free space on either side of her.

She following the winding shaft until she came to the end of it, where she was then able to crawl out and hop down onto the floor, landing in an almost cat-like crouch. She then glanced around, made sure the coast was clear, then took off toward the nearest console.

Once again she used her abilities to hack into it, and this time she made certain to shut down all of the security cameras, and then she bypassed several key protocols in order to lower the force fields on all of the cells. However, she did leave the lights on. That would hopefully buy her a few more cycles before the guards became aware of what she'd done. But at least she could be confident now that no alarms would be going off.

Satisfied, she grinned at herself and then disconnected from the console. She then sped off in the direction of the cells, knowing that the Decepticons were probably on the verge of coming out of their cells.

If they hadn't already…

0o0o0o0o0o0

Optimus pulled up just outside the prison and transformed, then moved to talk to the pair of guards he saw outside the doorway. Both of them seemed very alert and cautious; obviously, word about the guard who'd been killed here had definitely gotten around.

"Optimus Prime," one of the guards greeted. "Can we… help you with something?"

"Sari has escaped, and I have reason to believe she might be coming back here," Optimus told them grimly.

Twins pairs of optics widened, but other than that the guards couldn't have possibly looked more alert than they already were. "We have heard she escaped," one of them said. "But you really think she is coming back here?"

"I can't be certain, but I think so," Optimus replied. It was just a hunch, nothing more… although he wasn't about to admit that part out loud.

"For what purpose?"

"I think she's going to try and free the Decepticon prisoners."


	9. Chapter 9

Blitzwing was the first to step out when the force fields had lowered.

"It veels good to be able to move around again!" He laughed with his red jagged mouth spread out into an even larger grin than usually. "It makes me vant to dance!" That's when he switched his face to reveal his icy personality. "Strange zough, Vhy vould she force fields suddenly turn off?"

"They must be releasing us!" Ramjet cackled. But everyone really knew what he meant.

"Zhat may be true, they could be testing some new defense system. But shat voucldn't be very Autobot like of them."

"Yes, Yes you prove a very fine point!" Sunstorm agreed like he always did.

"Vhat ever the reason we should remain on guard at all times." Blitzwing said as he looked around feeling a bit insecure without his cannons.

The sound of the door opening drew The freed captives' attention to the door where they expected to see a guard. Instead, they had to lower their optics to see a small red haired femme with a Decepticon symbol, similar to there very own, standing there.

"Well," She smirked. "Looks like you did decide to wait for me!"

"Yes, we decided to be polite!" Ramjet said sounding almost annoyed.

"Oh, yes of course we'd wait for you!" Sunstorm added.

"Quiet!" Blitzwing snapped as he took on his hot head personality. "What kind of fools do yousink ve are! You're just zat Zari femme shey all talk about!"

"Sari's not here." The femme chuckled. "My name's Laserspark."

The other Decepticons exchanged glances. Indeed, this little femme did have the appearance of a 'con herself, having colors of purple and gray, not to mention the purple symbol on her chest.

She then lowered her helmet, revealing her organic half by allowing her face to be seen. She had bright red hair to match her large, red optics. Indeed, even though she was half organic, she was still a Decepticon at heart.

"Come on, you bozos," she said a bit impatiently. "We need to get going. I've got two other Decepticons outside and we've got an Autobot prisoner. No one will dare make a move against us, not unless they want to harm their little friend out there." She snickered evilly.

Before anyone could say a word, she activated the energon skates in her feet and, willing her helmet and faceplate to go back up around her head and face, she sped off down the corridor.

With that, the Decepticons transformed into their vehicle modes and took off after her, following her. Since the little femme was unbelievably fast, it was the only way they could keep up!

"Come on! How slow can you guys be!" Laserspark stopped for a moment to allow them to catch up before picking up speed once again.

"I'll have you know I can go much faster than this!" Ramjet shouted.

"I admire your speed, you are very superior!" Sunstorm added.

"Vould you two keep quiet?" Blitzwing shouted. "She's trying to help us escape!"

"Stop!" Laserspark shouted as they reached a dead end.

"Vhat are we stopping for?" Blitzwing questioned.

"The other Decepticons are just outside." Laserspark pointed towards the wall.

0o0o0o0

When Optimus entered the prison chamber he found it empty as he had feared. The guard next to him almost immediately took action and sounded the alarm.

As the alarms began to sound off loudly, echoing throughout the base in a shrill, audio-piercing noise, Optimus and the guard began to rush through the hallway. The alarm alerted the attention of the elite guard soldiers who worked within the building.

"Come on," Optimus snapped, "they couldn't have gone far… at least I hope not." The guard simply nodded, then the two of them rushed down the corridor, headed in only direction that the Decepticons could have gone after leaving their cells.

"Thank Primus that Megatron wasn't being kept here," the guard muttered at one point. "Bad enough to have the other 'cons loose, but we don't need the big bat bot loose either."

Optimus didn't reply; he merely kept going.

0o0o0o

Laserspark nearly jumped as the alarm sounded and then retook her stance.

"Looks like we're going to have to find a way to get out of here." She said as she began to think of a way for them to break out.

"Ve could fly through the roof." Blitzwing pointed upward towards what appeared to be a glass ceiling.

Laserspark nodded. Now wasn't the time to worry about being stealthy. They'd make a way out if they had too.

"Ven we get out ve should be sure the Autobots knoe of our captive." Blitzwing transformed into jet mode as he spoke.

"Yes, yes, brilliant." Sunstorm nodded in agreement.

"Those two are really starting to get on my nerves." Laserspark hissed as she seated herself in Blitzwing's cockpit. "Now fly!"

0o0o0o

Jetfire and Jetstorm stood outside holding onto Bumblebee awaiting Laserspark. When she told them to stay put they took her seriously. They hadn't even moved. Not even when Bumblebee tried to scream.

Then the glass roof behind them shattered.

Both of the jet twins reacted by jumping backward with a duo yelp coming out of their vocalizers. When this happened they dropped Bumblebee on the ground, who banged head first onto the hard, metal pavement. But since he was still mouth-clamped and stasis-cuffed, there was nothing he could do.

Then several Decepticons came down out of the sky, landing on the ground near Jetfire, Jetstorm and Bumblebee. Once everyone had landed, Blitzwing flung open his cockpit so that Laserspark could get out. And she hopped out, landing almost noiselessly on the ground beside him.

"Alright," she said, once again withdrawing her helmet and faceplate, then looked around at the others. "Mission accomplished… at least this one is. We need to get out of here, find a place to lay low for a while, then come up with a plan to release Megatron." She frowned, then placed her hands on her hips. "So, anyone got any ideas where to go?" she asked, tapping her foot a little.


	10. Chapter 10

"Vell..., zhere is zhe abandonded tunnels. But I zink that zhere probably guarded ever since Shockwave had been hiding zhere." Blitzwing thought for a moment.

"Speaking of which," Laserspark thought for a moment. "Why weren't Lughead's and Shocker's in there with you bozos?"

"Zhe Autobots decided to hold zhem in zhe same prison as Megatron." Blitzwing explained. "Zhe thought since shey were more loyal to him zhan a few other Decepticons." He eyed the clones a bit suspiciously. "Zhey though zhat zhey may know zomthing that ve don't."

Laserspark shot him a look. She had almost instantly decided that she did not like his cool-headed personality's accent, although she did have to admit that it was much more tolerable than the other two personalities.

"Makes sense," she finally said, turning her mind back on the situation at hand. "Well, we'll worry about them later, when we go to free Megatron. But we can't do that now. Let's just get out of here; the Autobots will be on our tail any minute, but we have an advantage cuz all of you can fly."

With that she walked over to Blitzwing and thumped her fist against his leg. "Change back into a jet," she snapped. "We gotta go, and I need a lift."

All of the Decepticons who had changed into their robot modes then changed back into their vehicle modes, and Blitzwing opened up his cockpit for Laserspark. Once she had secured herself into his seat, she frowned slightly. Why did her mind suddenly flash back to the times when Optimus gave her a ride, and to the many times that she road in Bumblebee's seat…?

She forcefully shoved the thought out of her mind. It simply did not matter. She was who she was now, not some wimpy Autobot-wanna-be.

The Decepticons blasted off into the sky, with Jetfire and Jetstorm trailing along behind, each one clinging to Bumblebee as they went. Once they were a safe distance away from the prison, they would find a place to lay low for a while.

0o0o0o

Optimus ran out and stared up at the sky and watched as the escaped Decepticons flew off. He gasped as he spotted Jetfire and Jetstorm among them clinging onto the arms of a limp and stasis-cuffed Bumblebee.

Things weren't turning out so well. He'd have to report the twins change of allegiance to Ultra Magnus. Something told him the head bot wouldn't like the fact that their two only other Autobots who could fly had changed their loyalty.

Sighing, Optimus turned back to look toward the guard. "Alright," he said with a sigh, "there's no point in trying to follow them… not with the speed they have. You stay here and keep an eye on things, I'm going to go report all of this to Ultra Magnus."

Before the guard could say anything, Optimus Prime transformed into his truck mode and sped off.

As the guard watched him go, he shook his head at himself. "Yeah sure," he muttered at the Prime's retreating figure. "Not that I can do much anymore… since all the prisoners have gotten away."

With that, the guard turned and went back into the prison building.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Decepticons flew with great speed toward the edge of Iacon, until they reached what appeared to be an old, abandoned part of the city. Since they didn't see much activity down there, they figured that they could set down in that area for a while.

They encountered what seemed to be an enormous building that used to be a storage facility, and better still, it had a huge basement that went underground. They were able to transform into their robot modes and go down into the basement, locking the door behind them as they went downward. They knew that so long as they were careful, they wouldn't be discovered, at least for a while.

Laserspark, who had been walking on her own two feet ever since Blitzwing transformed back into his robotic mode, was beginning to feel tired. She hadn't realized just how much the events of the day had taken out of her. Apparently she had used up far more energy than she'd thought.

"Okay… I think we should power down for a while, and get some rest," she said as she stifled a yawn. "You," she said, pointing at Sunstorm, "you stand the first watch, make sure no one comes down here without us knowing about it."

"It would be my pleasure," Sunstorm practically gushed, then bowed from the middle.

Rolling her eyes, Laserspark quietly walked off into one of the smaller rooms of the enormous basement area. Actually, it didn't really seem like a basement… more like another floor located underground.

She sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, attempting to relax. Then, after she had breathed deeply, in and out a few times, she turned over and lay down on her side, wrapping her arms around herself and bending her legs.

Sleep eagerly welcomed her as she slipped into a deep nap. But while she was sleeping, something happened that she did not expect.

She had a dream where she was standing in the same room she had fallen asleep in, only she could hear a faint voice calling her name. That is, her old name.

"What?" she said in the dream, looking around. "Who's that? Who is there?"

She then heard footsteps coming toward her. At first she thought it was one of the Decepticons, but then she realized it was someone else, mainly due to the bright red Autobot symbol that shone brightly in the darkness. But she couldn't see the bot's face.

"Who is there?" Laserspark hissed, scrambling to her feet and holding up her hands defensively. "How did you get in here?"

"Sari," the voice said, sounding very familiar. "This isn't who you are."

"That's not my name anymore! That isn't even who I am anymore. Who are you?" Laserspark shouted.

Then the figure stepped into the light, lowering his head slightly. Laserspark gasped softly as a very familiar blue visor caught and reflected in what little light there was in the room.

"Sari, it's me. Prowl," He held out a servo toward her. "Please… let me help you."

That was when Laserspark awoke, with a start. She sat straight up, panting and gasping for breath.

A dream… just a dream…

Once she got ahold of herself she narrowed her eyes, shaking her head. Prowl was dead, and that had only been a dream. She didn't know why she dreamed of him, but a dream could easily be forgotten and dismissed. And so she shoved it out of her mind and stood, stretched, then went to see what her fellow Decepticons were up to.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Optimus approached Ultra Magnus and told him the news of what had happened. The older Autobot seemed slightly surprised by how all the prisoners had escaped but almost instantly went back to his regular calm demeanor.

"It seems only more trouble can become of this." Ultra Magnus thought for a moment. "And it only proves my point about Sari probably being a Decepticon experiment."

"We may be able to get her back though." Optimus spoke up. "If we talk to the bot who did this to her, we may be able to get him to tell us how to deactivate her Decepticon programming."

"I'm afraid that's not possible." Ultra Magnus sighed. "Short Circuit refuses to say a word. All he's told us is that we'd have to get them straight from his processor and laugh. And though we try, we cannot find the deactivation codes. Not even with out top scientists on the job."

Optimus stood there for a moment and thought. If they couldn't find the deactivation codes, they'd just have to find a way to convince Sari that she wasn't a Decepticon. But how was the difficult part.

If only Prowl was still online, he thought.

With that Ultra Magnus dismissed him.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"Okay so we know that Megatron and Lugnut are being kept in a secure cell located somewhere under Iacon City," Laserspark said slowly, glancing around at the Decepticons. She was so much smaller than all of them, but her firmness and self-confidence made her seem just as important as the rest of them. "But do any of you know exactly where that is?" she asked.

Blitzwing was the first to say something. "Zhere probably holding zhem in zomekind of research lab where they can be properly watched and studied."

"Why would they be studied?" Laserspark placed her hands on her metallic hips.

"To make sure they were in good health so they can give them energon lollipops!" Ramjet exclaimed.

"Huh?" Laserspark looked at the Starscream clone a bit confused. She knew that whatever Ramjet said usually meant the opposite. But sometimes it was hard to figure out exactly what he meant.

"He's saying zhat zhey're probably studying zhem to be sure zhey're not carrying any viruses zhat only vork on Autobots." Blitzwing said simply.

"Are there any viruses even like that?" Laserspark asked not believing that was possible.

"In zhe days of the Great Var some did exist." Blitzwing stated. "But zhe virus has probably died out by zhen." His face then switched to random. "Good sing ahe Autobots never came up with any!" He cackled.

"Stop laughing!" Laserspark snapped silencing Blitzwing who let his personality change back to icy.

"Now," the small femme said, clearing her throat and then went on, "I'll repeat my question… do any of you guys have any idea where Megatron is being kept? Like, where would the research building be?"

Ramjet spoke up once again. "High above the city, hovering just over the prison complex that we were in, perhaps?"

That time, Laserspark understood what he was trying to say. "You mean underground, beneath that same prison complex," she said slowly, nodding to herself. "Well if it is there, we'll need to wait a while before we can go back, because it's probably swarming with guards and search parties right now."

She tilted her head to one side, narrowing her eyes at Ramjet. "Just what makes you think it's there, though? I mean, do you actually know it's there, or is it a wild guess?" She cast a glance at Blitzwing, hoping he might know something as well. If nothing else, the triple-face-changer was far easier to understand… even if he was annoying.

Blitzwing noticed the look Laserspark was giving him and knew that she was hoping that he knew something about where Megatron was being kept.

"Vell," he began. "I did hear what sounded like Lugnut shouting once coming from an air vent that leads to a lower level when they were moving us to different cells to clean zhe others."

"I didn't hear anything." Ramjet smirked crossing his arms.

"Zhey've probably put a mouth clamp on him by now."

"Yes, good observation O' Wise One." Sunstorm clasped his hands together as though he were admiring Blitzwing.

"... He's joking right?" Laserspark pointed to Sunstorm while she looked at Blitzwing.

0o0o0o0

"Ratchet, any ideas on how we should try and help Sari?" Optimus questioned when he had gone to see Ratchet.

"Nothing so far." The medic shook his head.

The guard whom Sari had shot was stabilized, and had been moved to the Iacon medical facility where he could receive good treatment and care until his systems had fully recovered. But Ratchet had stabilized his circuits and saved him from going offline.

"We need to stop her before she can damage any other bots—or make anyone else go offline," Optimus sighed, shaking his head. Part of him still didn't want to believe this was happening, but there was no denying it.

"We also can't afford to let her fool us anymore," Ratchet told him warily. "We need to accept the fact that she's under the control of Decepticon programming right now, and she's no longer the Sari we once knew. As hard as it is…" The old medic bowed his head, his shoulders sagging a little. "We have to think of her as nothing but an enemy…"

"At least until she's captured," Optimus said.

"If she can be captured." Ratchet narrowed his optics just a little. The grim expression on his features told Prime that he hated the idea of Sari being killed as much as anyone else, but considering how dangerous the little femme had become, it was an undeniable possibility.

"I'm going back to the prison building," Optimus said, turning his back on the old medic and walking away. "Maybe I can help there."

Before Ratchet could say a word, Optimus left the room and made his way outside. The Prime then transformed and drove off.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Laserspark had determined that it was best to wait at least a couple of days before she and her companions tried to go free Megatron. So she ordered everyone to lay low for a couple of days and conserve energon.

She then decided to take the time to go check on their prisoner, the yellow bot who had been her best friend when she had been Sari. Her lip curled in disgust at the thought as she approached the room; to think that she'd ever been best friends with such a wimpy Autobot… the thought was appalling.

"Bumblebee?" Laserspark called out attempting to make herself sound like the one person Bumblebee wanted her to be at the time. "There you are!" She gave a laughed approaching the cuffed Autobot. "Look you're cuffed." She blinked pretending like she had no idea what was going on. "How'd that happen?"

Bumblebee tried to say something but the sound was muffled.

"Wait let me see if I can get that off," she exclaimed, then rushed forward and carefully got the mouth clamp off of him. "Bumblebee, what happened to you?" she asked urgently, placing her hands on his faceplate. "Who did this to you?"

"Wait… Sari, is that really you?" Bumblebee asked, eyeing her suspiciously. "Or is this another Laserspark trick?"

"Of course not." Laserspark smiled as sweetly as possible trying to keep herself from lashing out at how foolish Bumblebee was. "What would make you think that?"

"Because, before you acted as though I was some kind of pest and you freed the Decepticons."

"I would never!" Laserspark exclaimed, pretending to be indignant at the very suggestion that she would betray the Autobots. "Come on, I'm gonna get these cuffs off of you, then we can get out of here!"

Bumblebee actually smiled then, a look of relief washing over his face. "Oh Sari, you're really back! For a while there I thought we'd lost you forever."

Laserspark had to turn her face away to hide her expression. Sheesh, was Bumblebee so stupid and gullible—or that attached to Sari, that he was really falling for this again? She wasn't sure if it was harder to hide a groan or a laugh. Nevertheless, she kept her head down as she pretended to fool with the stasis cuffs, pretending to try and get them off.

"Ugh, they're stuck!" she finally exclaimed. Of course they weren't really stuck, but she had to pretend in order to keep the act up. "Bumblebee," she said, then looked up into his face, "what's going on here? I'm scared!"

"It's okay if your scared Sari." Bumblebee smiled.

"Are you sure?" Laserspark blinked up at him innocently. "There are a lot of things you should be afraid of."

"What?" Bumblebee's optics widened for a moment. "That you'll go Decepticon again? Or that Any of those Decepticons you freed will catch us? I'm sure that I can out drive them."

"Are you really sure about that?" Laserspark looked away for a moment.

"Of course Sari, you're my friend." Bumblebee smiled.

And that was when Laserspark cracked up, giving Bumblebee a light punch in the face. "You idiot!" she exclaimed, shaking her head in a mixture of exasperation and amusement. "You fell for it again, didn't you?"

Bumblebee gaped at her, too stung to speak. Her words and her laughter hurt more than the punch actually did. Laserspark then slammed the clamp back over his mouth and secured it before he could recover enough to say anything.

Laserspark then sneered at him, shaking her head at him. "Oh don't give me those sad puppy-dog optics," she told him. "It's your own fault for being so slagging gullible!"

With that she turned her back on him and headed out of the room, though not before she cast one last look at him. Frankly, torturing the poor yellow mech was fun, but now this trick was beginning to get a little old. She was pretty sure he wouldn't fall for it again anyway.


	11. Chapter 11

"Sari."

Laserspark growled, covering her ears with her hands. She already knew that it wouldn't do any good, though. The voice was somehow inside her head—or possibly inside her very own spark. She wasn't hearing it through her ears. "Go away," she hissed.

Somehow or other, after she taunted Bumblebee that one final time, the voice of Prowl had begun to speak to her again. She wasn't sure if she was dreaming or hallucinating. She was fairly certain she hadn't gone insane.

"Sari, this isn't you. And you know it."

"SHUT UP," she yelled, yanking her hands away from her ears and pressing them against her temples. "Get out, GET OUT. Just go away!"

She was already late for a meeting with her fellow Decepticons. Two days had passed since they had come to hide at this warehouse, during which time she had refused to go anywhere near Bumblebee. She was determined to get as much rest as possible in order to conserve and store energy until it was time to head out. And Bumblebee was nothing more than a hostage, and was no longer amusing. The trick she'd played on him so many times had gotten very old by now.

"Has it gotten old, Sari?" Prowl's voice asked gently in her spark. "Or is it that you feel guilty for doing what you did?"

"I am NOT Sari!" Laserspark shouted. "And I don't feel anything! It was fun to torture Bumblebee like that. I enjoyed it. Now SHUT UP AND GO AWAY." She then growled loudly and stomped loudly down the hallway. The other Decepticons were probably waiting for her in the designated meeting room. She needed to be there to plan a strategy, otherwise they weren't going anywhere.

Soon enough Laserspark stomped into the meeting room. Those closest to the door jumped slightly from surprise, but were still nonchalant. They had gotten used to the techno organics bursts and fits so much so that her angry face WAS her face.

"Alright, let's get to business," Laserspark ordered as she took her spot. Looking around she could see a slight hesitation among the Decepticons. Her eyes furrowed into slits as she scrutinized them.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"Oh nothing, nothing at all that you need to be concerned with," Ramjet told her quite smugly.

"Alright," Laserspark said, slowly turning her gaze to look at Blitzwing. "What's going on?"

"Ve have discovered exactly where Megatron and Lugnut have been moved to," Blitzwing said. Thankfully his cool personality had taken over, for the moment. That was the one that Laserspark preferred to talk to. "Zhey both have been securely locked up inside ze ancient catacombs beneath Cybertron."

"Hmmm, never heard of them," Laserspark murmured, then shrugged. She'd been a human most of her life, and she'd grown up on Earth. There was probably a lot about Cybertron that she didn't know. "But whatever. Is there a problem with this?"

"Ze catacombs are located deep below Iacon," Blitzwing's chilly personality informed her. "They are difficult to enter, they are heavily guarded and monitored, and it is said that they are laid with booby traps." Suddenly, his face changed to that of Random. "And ve would be the boobies if we got caught down there! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Laserspark growled. She really didn't have the patience or time for jokes.

"Whatever traps or guards there are, we can blast them away! All I want is for us is to prepare for infiltration," she stated. Nearby Sunstorm grinned gleefully.

"Oh yes, what a glorious decision!" he said in fake admiring.

"Sure. Now what we nee-"

"I'm avraid zat it von't be as easy as it looks," Blitzwing interrupted, back on Icy. Laserspark gave him a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" she asked in an irritated voice.

"It vill most likely take us two days to get to Megatron and Lugnut," Blitzwing answered. "Because ve vill have to make our way through a maze of winding passageways, and there are more down there than you can possibly imagine. Plus it is very possible we would get lost or turned around down there."

"And of course all of us going down there together would be a marvelous idea!" Ramjet cut in gleefully. "It is very unlikely that anyone would detect us if we all went down there down together."

Laserspark nodded slowly, instantly making a mental note of this. And knowing that the opposite of what he just said was the truth. "Fine then," she stated. "Only two of us will go. Me, and… let's see… who else?" Her optics narrowed, then slid across the room, trying to decide who would be the most competent one to take with her on such a journey.

Then again, in a case such as this, it wasn't a mere matter of competency. It was also a matter of trust. Who would be the least likely to stab her in the back, or try to use the situation to his own advantage?

Laserspark scanned the room. Blitzwing was fine, but someone needed to watch the base and keep the others under control. The Starscream clones were out of the question entirely.

All that were left was the Jet Twins. They've been completely loyal to her for this long, and they followed her orders precisely. Just what she needed. But which one?

"Hmmm," she murmured out loud, stroking her chin thoughtfully. Both of them seemed quite capable in their own way. They were, after all, twins that split from the same spark. But was either one of them more competent or able than the other?

Then she had to think about their abilities, too. Which would be more useful down in the catacombs, the ability to use fire, or the ability to cause a storm?

"Jetfire," she finally decided. Fire would most likely be more useful down there, wouldn't it? "You will be coming with me."

"Yes ma'am Laserspark ma'am!" Jetfire responded with a salute.

"Jetfire," Laserspark said, "I need you to come with me into the catacombs in order to find Megatron and Lugnut. You will prepare for a week's journey, and report here tomorrow in the morning. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am Laserspark ma'am...but.." Jetfire said hesitantly. Jetstorm shifted a bit on his spot. the twins looked at each other, not knowing what to tell their leader. They had never been apart before, and Cybertronian twins often grew weary and lonely without their counterpart. As much as they were willing to help in the rescue, they were still unsure of splitting up.

"What is it now?" Laserspark growled impatiently, scowling and folding her arms. She simply wanted to get on with this. Was there some important information they hadn't yet discussed, or were they simply worried about something trivial?

"Well, Laserspark ma'am," Jetfire said, shifting his feet awkwardly. "Me brother and I have always gone together on missions."

"Yes, we have!" Jetstorm agreed whole-heartedly.

"Well, this time you're going to have to go on a mission without your brother, Jetfire," Laserspark informed him firmly.

Both of the twins frowned as if someone had kicked their cyber-puppy. "But Laserspark, do we really have to?" Jetstorm asked.

"Yes!" Laserspark snapped, stamping her foot firmly on the ground for emphasis. "If you're really a Decepticon, being away from your twin brother for a week shouldn't bother you much." She smirked. "Unless you're both trying to tell me you're just a couple of soft Autobots."

Her smirk deepened as she looked up toward Jetfire and crooned, "Dear Jetfire, does Laserspark need to bottle-feed you low-grade energon during this mission?" Then she shifted her gaze over to Jetstorm and said in the same, patronizing voice, "Dearest little Jetstorm, would you like a teddy bear and a blanky while we're gone? Maybe you'd like Blitzwing to read you bedtime stories so you can sleep at night?"

Then she rolled her eyes, and replaced her mockup cooing voice with a stern one. "Sheesh, grow up, both of you."

Both their faceplates heated up, and it didn't help that a giggling Random took over on Blitzwing.

"I...I be going with you Laserspark ma'am. I am no Autobot!"

"I am no Autobot, either!" Jetstorm added. "I can be alone, without my brother."

Laserspark grinned triumphantly. "Very good," she said. "Now, run along and do what I told you to do."

Once Jetfire was gone, Laserspark told the others, "Alright, I want the rest of you to stay here, lay low, keep an eye on the prisoner, and don't do anything until me and Jetfire get back. Is that understood?"

There was a collective murmur of acknowledgement, and a few nods.

"Very good," Laserspark said with a nod of her own. Now let's just hope all this goes smoothly, she thought to herself. And she hoped that Prowl would stay out of her head while she did this, too. She didn't like the dead Autobot messing around with her, even if he simply was a figment of her imagination.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Bumblebee."

The yellow Autobot groaned softly. He'd been attempting to recharge, partly due to the fact that he had no idea when his captors might give him more energon, and partly to try and shut out the nightmare he was in. So he barely stirred when a voice started calling his name.

Bumblebee could not believe he'd been so stupid and gullible. It seemed that the Sari he knew was gone; she had slipped away right before their very optics. All she ever did now was manipulate bots, humiliate and taunt her friends—the ones she had called her family—and now she was working for the Decepticons.

Bee had desperately wanted to believe that the old Sari he'd known for all this time was still in there somewhere. And every time he began to think that she was coming back, it turned out to be a trick. Well, he certainly wasn't going to fall for that again anymore. The next time he saw her…

Yeah right. What exactly could he do, the next time he saw her? He was still in stasis cuffs, and he still had a mouth clamp on. Plus he already knew that, despite the red eyes, the purple and gray attire, as well as the Decepticon symbol on her chest, he would still see Sari, his friend, when he looked at her.

In all honesty, he wasn't sure if he would be able to harm a hair on her head, despite all she'd done.

"Bumblebee."

There was that voice again. Bumblebee was fully awake now, so he knew it wasn't a figment of his imagination.

Or was it?

"Bumblebee, just try to hold on."

Being restrained in stasis cuffs, all he was able to do was move his optics about, and turn his head a little from left to right. He couldn't even speak, thanks to that stupid mouth clamp. Who the slag is that? He thought to himself. He couldn't see anyone.

"It's me, Prowl."

Bumblebee blinked. Prowl? That's not possible, you're dead!

There was a slight chuckle that seemed to radiate from the air around Bee, or perhaps through his spark. "Bumblebee, it is me. Prowl."

Prowl, where are you? Bumblebee asked, his optics widening to their fullest. Wait a nanoclik, how are we even talking? We're just thinking at each other! Unless this is all just a dream…

Somehow the yellow bot could "see" Prowl's familiar features appear slowly before him. Only it wasn't exactly the way he remembered it; it still had the same outline of the chin, helmet, visor and mouth. But instead of the familiar colors of black, gold and gray, Prowl's face was a ghostly white.

He's visiting me from the Well of All Sparks! Bumblebee realized. Slag, I'm seeing a ghost!

Prowl's ghostly mouth curved upward into a small smile. "I prefer the term 'spirit'," he told the yellow bot. The smile quickly faded. "Bumblebee, I am here to tell you that I'm trying to get through to Sari. I think I might be able to—"

Bumblebee's optics narrowed. Don't waste your time, Prowl. She's gone Decepticon City on us. Every time I thought I was getting through to her, she—

"I know," Prowl interrupted. "But I still think I might be able to get through to her. I can reach her in ways you can't. But you've just got to hold on, Bumblebee, and be there for her when and if she does fight off her Decepticon programming. Understood?"

In some ways, Bumblebee did not understand what the ninja-bot was saying. Yet part of him also knew that he wanted Sari back, very badly. Preferably, unharmed. But could he ever trust her again? Could he ever take that risk, after all she'd done?

"You know you want to," Prowl told him. "I can see it in your spark."

Despite their many disagreements and arguments in the past… Bumblebee suddenly realized that this was part of why he'd missed Prowl. Despite how annoying his fondness for "nature" and "stillness" and "solitude" were, the ninja still had a knack for observing—and getting into areas—that no one else could. In more ways than one.

You think you can get through to her? Bumblebee asked, feeling a spark of hope beginning to well up within him.

"I'm not sure, but I think I already might be starting to." Prowl frowned. "It won't be easy, I know that much."

Bumblebee looked at Prowl's glowing, spirit face with a seriousness that the yellow bug had never shown before. I don't care how long it takes, Prowl, he thought. Just… promise me you'll get her back to us, safely.

Prowl nodded. "That's what I'm here for, Bumblebee. Just hold on. Hold on for her sake, to be there for her when she snaps out of it." With that, the spirit form of the ninja-bot vanished, and Bumblebee was left along again.

Yet not entirely alone… the yellow Autobot now had a spark of hope. Even if part of him couldn't help but wonder if he'd dreamt or imagined the entire thing…

0o0o0o0o0o0o

"JETFIRE YOU SLAGGING IDIOT!" Laserspark yelled furiously.

Today was the morning of the second day, down in the catacombs beneath Iacon. During that time, Jetfire had been acting a bit jittery here and there. Apparently he had a fear of being underground where he could not fly, and apparently he hated dark places. This fear and discomfort was intensified by the fact that his brother was not there with him to hold his hand—at least that's what Laserspark felt from her observations.

During all this time, Jetfire's constant jitteriness was literally driving Laserspark batty. But what happened just now really set her off. Apparently in his panic over something he thought he saw in the shadows, Jetfire fired his flame-throwing weapons, which ended up hitting the supplies they'd brought.

The supplies, which had been set and stacked next to the side of the tunnel they were in, had a couple of small canisters of oil along with all the other stuff. When the fire hit the stack of supplies, it erupted into a small yet pretty impressive explosion, and caused it all to turn into a small, underground bonfire.

"I-I am sorry, Laserspark Ma'am," Jetfire said sheepishly, taking a couple of steps back.

Laserspark growled, her red eyes flashing like fire themselves as she glanced at the small inferno, then back at her partner. "Some help you turned out to be! Maybe I should just slag you right now and go on by myself!" Her hands started to heat up, giving off a faint glow of red energy, a glow which quickly began to brighten.

Jetfire's eyes widened with fear. Even though he was much taller than Laserspark, she still had a lot of power and a very bad temper to intensify her abilities. He made a gulping noise, taking another step back. "I'm sorry!" he apologized again, holding up his servos in front of him.

Laserspark growled, her eyes narrowing into slits, her teeth gritting. "Too late for 'sorry'," she snapped. Then, without thinking, she simply released all of the irritation and anger she'd kept barely under control for the past couple of days. Her temper got the better of her, and she released twin bolts of energy from her hands, which impacted Jetfire directly in his torso.

The former Autobot cried out in pain as the energy impacted him, then his optics darkened and he was offline before he even hit the floor.

"Stupid lousy excuse for a Decepticon!" Laserspark kicked him in the leg. She could tell that he was still online, just badly damaged and immobile. Not to mention unconscious.

She stuck her tongue out at his limp form, ignoring how childish and human-like the gesture really was. Then she turned on her heel and began to stalk off, in the direction she had been going before.

After she had gone about ten paces she stopped, frowning. What, she was actually considering going on alone? Of course she wasn't afraid or anything, not with all the power she had. But what if there were a lot of booby-traps down here? And how many guards would be around Megatron and Lugnut? If nothing else, she felt that she would need a decoy in order to go ahead of her and test the pathway for traps, or to serve as a decoy for the guards.

Despite his blunder, Laserspark realized she actually needed Jetfire. And she had just lost her temper—even if it was rightfully so, in her opinion—and damaged the one bot who could help her out down here.

Sighing, Laserspark turned on her heel once again and proceeded to stomp back in the direction of the ailing former Autobot.

Once she reached his side she placed her hands on her hips. "C'mon, Jetfire," she said. "Get up." There was no response, no movement; not even a flicker of the optics.

"GET UP!" Laserspark bellowed, giving him a firm kick in the arm. "ANSWER ME!" There was still no response.

"Fine!" she threw her hands in the air. "If you're just gonna be stupid and ignore my orders, you can just stay there. Maybe some Autobot will find you down here and be good enough to repair you… before they throw you into a cell." With that she turned and began to continue on her way.

After she went a short distance, she found her pace slowing, and she stopped. She glanced over her shoulder. For some reason… it bothered her slightly, knowing that she was leaving behind an ally. Then again, why should it? Why should she feel anything akin to guilt? He was the one who blundered, and it wasn't like he was a friend or anything. He was just a pawn to use. He blew it, and apparently he had been easily damaged, so she had no further use for him now. He probably would have fainted at the first sight of an Autobot weapon anyway.

Laserspark shook her head. "I'm just being ridiculous," she muttered, and began to continue on her way… alone.


	12. Chapter 12

Back in the Decepticon hideout, above ground, several of them were bickering. Blitzwing, who'd been left in charge, was actually doing his best to maintain order. And that wasn't saying much, considering his personalities changed every few minutes, and Hothead and Random didn't feel like sitting around waiting. However, while those two personalities argued with each other, Icy maintained his resolve; he ordered everyone to stay put until further notice. No exceptions.

Jetstorm began to get very annoyed at hearing all of this arguing, so he finally decided to slip out of the main room to be by himself. The fact was, he missed his brother. Even though he could still feel his twin through the sibling bond they shared, the fact was… Jetfire was not there. And he wouldn't be seeing him for Primus-only-knows how long.

For some reason, the seeker found himself wandering in the direction of Bumblebee's cell. He did not actually go inside, he merely paused outside the door and then opened it just enough to peer inside. The yellow bot was still securely restrained in the stasis cuffs and the mouth clamp.

Memories surged through Jetstorm's processor as he continued to peer at the Autobot. He thought about the time—however brief—he and his brother had spent on Earth, before they—along with Sentinel, Jazz, and the Decepticon prisoners—left the world of humans.

He shoved the thoughts away, closing the door. What the frag was he doing, anyway? He shouldn't be looking in at the prisoner, not unless it was time to feed him his energon rations or possibly take him somewhere. There were plenty of other things Jetstorm could be doing instead.

Of course it wasn't like he was doing much useful right now. He was simply roaming around, annoyed and bored, while the other Decepticons bickered and argued in the main room, and Laserspark and his brother were down in the catacombs trying to get to Megatron.

Jetstorm found himself wandering past a smooth, reflective surface on one of the walls. He paused and slowly glanced into it, taking note of his features and his shining, ruby-red optics. For some reason he found himself pausing and staring, focusing on his optical sensors.

And for some strange reason… he began to wonder if that color really suited his optics.

He brushed off the thought and turned away from the "mirror", clanking his feet against the cold metal floor as he continued to wander about.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Laserspark was nearing her destination; she could feel it. Yet she had to be cautious because there were a number of booby-traps down here. So far she hadn't encountered too many, and those she had run into either didn't go off thanks to careful planning and maneuvers, or she'd managed to avoid getting hurt or captured when they went off. Still, she was surprised at how few there were.

Then again, she knew she had to stay on her toes. Perhaps the fact that this seemed to be going so easily was only meant to lull her into a false sense of security, or overconfidence. The Autobots were her enemy now, but they could still be quite clever.

Especially Optimus Prime and the others…

Something pulsed through her spark, as well as her human heart, as the thought of her former friends went through her processor/mind. Somewhere within her, she definitely still had feelings for them. That is… she was fond of them…

She growled, pressing her hands against her forehead. "I don't CARE about them anymore!" she hissed. "I stopped being friends with them when I became what I really am. What I was really meant to be."

After all, she was a better person right now, wasn't she? THIS was what she was, a Decepticon. She was fulfilling her purpose right now. Before, she had only been a pathetic little weakling, raised as a fleshling and taught to be a stupid Autobot-lover.

But she was not that disgusting little wimp anymore. She was Laserspark, and once she found Megatron, she would prove herself worthy as a Decepticon.

She took a deep breath, then forced herself to press onward. She didn't have much farther to go, she was sure of it.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jetfire was slowly coming around, although he had a massive processor ache that made him feel like he did not want to move much for at least a decade.

His internal systems were recovering from what he'd just endured, and his processor was working out a few errors. They were corrected one by one, and then he returned to full awareness. That also meant becoming fully aware of his aches and pains.

Groaning, Jetfire slowly tried to push himself up, but he only ended up rolling over onto his side and pressing his helm against the cool floor. That didn't help much to relieve his processor ache. But it was certainly better than trying to move too much.

Why did he feel so bad? Had Laserspark damaged him? He began to run a self-diagnostic in order to make certain there was nothing wrong.

"You will be fine."

Jetfire's head snapped up and he glanced around, trying to see who'd spoken. The sudden motion made his head hurt again, but he tried to ignore it. "Who be there?" he asked aloud, still searching the area with his optical sensors.

The voice spoke again, although Jetfire still did not see the speaker. "It is me, Prowl. I'm here to help you; please just listen to me."

The seeker's optics narrowed. "Not true! Cycle-motor is dead. Brother and I attended his funeral ourselves."

"I died in the physical world, but my spark is one with the Allspark now, and I am directly connected to the Well of All Sparks."

Jetfire blinked, still unsure what to make of this. "But Allspark is destroyed. All of its energy was used up."

"Not destroyed, dispersed. And not used up; so long as the Allspark remains connected to the Well of All Sparks will continue to be fueled and nourished, as I am."

"If this be true… what are you doing here?" Jetfire glanced around again, trying to spot the bot he was talking to.

"I'm here to help you," the ninja said again. "Please just listen to me. This isn't who you are and you know it. You are not yourself right now, nor is your brother, nor is Sari."

Jetfire glared. "She not be Sari anymore! She be Laserspark."

"In a way it's true, in a way it isn't. The real Sari is still in there somewhere and if only she could be reached before it's too late… all of this could be stopped." Prowl sounded eager, hopeful, although there was a touch of wariness in his voice. He didn't sound tired, merely a bit agitated at having watched all of this draw out for so long. He was a very patient bot, but he disliked seeing his friends go through all of this.

"So what are you going to do?" Jetfire wanted to know.

All of a sudden, the seeker saw the ghost of Prowl appear before him. It started out as a faint light, then a hundred twinkling specks of light glimmered in the air, almost like floating diamonds. Then these little lights gathered together, until they formed an outline and then a solid, spirit-like form of Prowl himself.

The ninja hovered above Jetfire's ailing form, looking at him with his ghostly visor. Jetfire stared for a moment, his optics widening. Then he yelped in a mixture of astonishment and alarm.

"Don't be frightened," Prowl said, then offered a small smile. "Just… listen to me." He voice grew more penetrating, yet in a gentle and soothing way. Then the ghostly hands slowly reached out, moving toward Jetfire's head as if to touch it. The ghostly fingertips paused for a moment, then slowly went right into the seeker's head.

Jetfire's optics widened all the more, then he simply froze. He did not utter another sound or move an inch.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jetstorm flinched, wrapping his arms around his chassis. He had been fully aware of his brother going temporarily offline, although he hadn't thought much about it since he could still feel the life in Jetfire's spark. He'd merely assumed that they had run into some trouble and that Laserspark was most likely protecting him. And when he felt his twin awaken, Jetstorm merely felt relief.

But now something odd was going on. He could feel that Jetfire felt… very conflicted. Almost as if something was going on inside his processor… with his own programming.

"No!" Jetstorm shouted, clamping his hands against his helm, and then pressing them against his spark chamber. "Brother, what be happening to you?" He groaned out loud, wishing he could do more to help.

With that he sat down on the floor and focused, trying to reach out over the bond. If he could strengthen the bond… perhaps he could reach his brother and help him somehow.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Laserspark knew she was definitely getting closer. It turned out to be correct when she rounded one final corner and saw that she had indeed reached her destination, finally.

Just up ahead there was a cell door with two sentries standing guard. She knew that Megatron and Lugnut were just inside, probably bound and immobilized, and they probably had mouth clamps on.

She smirked slightly. Probably just like I have Bumblebee all secured back at our makeshift base, she thought. Only those two 'cons would be out and about soon enough. All she had to do was take care of the guards and then get that cell door open.

However in her excitement, she did not take into account that there was a booby-trap trigger merely inches from the current position of her left foot, which she had slightly in front of her right foot. She kept her eyes trained on the guards, preparing to activate her powerful weapons and use the benefit of surprise on her side.

She inched forward, not noticing as her foot moved ever so closer to the trigger that was ankle-level with her. It was a beam of soft light that went across the floor, and if the beam was broken, the trap would activate.

She inched forward a few more inches, activated her armor and weapons, and then prepared to strike—

And that was when her foot broke the beam of light. There was a loud noise, and before she even realized what was happening, a large, pole-like metallic object burst out of the nearest wall and sent a large jolt of energy coursing through her. She screamed as her entire form shook and shuddered, feeling as if every circuit and organ in her was going to fry or explode.

However the effect didn't last long; obviously it was only meant to stun and render immobile. Once it shut off, Laserspark crumpled and fell to the floor, unconscious. She was out before she even hit the floor, and she certainly did not hear the sounds of heavy footsteps approaching.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Yes sir, we got her."

Laserspark's eyelids fluttered a little, yet she was unable to open them. Her entire body felt numb and even her thoughts were blurry. The sensation was gradually returning to her fingers and toes, but for the moment she was immobile.

"That is affirmative, sir. We've got her locked up good in a secure cell, as far from Megatron and Lugnut as we could get her."

She became aware that someone was speaking. She tried to make sense of the words. Somehow each word seemed to make sense on its own, registering in her processor, but they didn't seem to make sense together.

"No sir, there is no possibility of her escaping. We have her securely confined, and we have a modified pair of stasis cuffs on her. They fit her smaller wrists, and we made certain that they keep her immobile but do not overpower her systems."

Stasis cuffs? Yes, she knew what those were. And her mind was beginning to clear a bit more. She could also understand sentences now, not just words.

Groaning a little, she found that the sensation had returned to her limbs. But sure enough, she could not move very much. That meant that she did indeed have a pair of stasis cuffs on. Just her size, apparently.

Wonderful.

Then, the voice of the Autobot mech—presumably a guard—spoke again. "Don't worry sir, we're not going to take any chances with her this time. We're going to keep her locked up no matter what she does or says. Are you coming down here?"

Laserspark knew that the Autobot guard was probably speaking to a superior, possibly even the Magnus himself. But what was she going to do now? She'd gotten overconfident, fried her own backup and left him behind, and then she'd stupidly fallen into a booby trap. Now here she was, laying flat on the ground, unable to move.

She opened her optics. For some reason, her eyes were the last things to respond. That seemed a little unusual to her, although she quickly dismissed it. Maybe it was just a weird aftereffect of the jolt she'd received.

"So you're coming down here, Magnus sir? Understood. We'll be expecting you within the next few hours, then." There was slight "beep" of the Autobot's commlink being deactivated, and Laserspark then knew that the conversation was over.

She then heard the sound of clanking footsteps moving away. He was leaving her alone, in the cell? Well, that probably just meant he had things to do… and he felt that he could afford to leave her alone. That probably also meant she was indeed tightly secured in this cell… and in the stasis cuffs.

So, apparently Ultra Magnus himself was coming down to see her. What would he do with her, exactly, after he came down? Was he going to bring any of her "friends" from Earth to see her? She didn't want to see any of them, that was for sure.

Why not? There was that all-too-familiar voice again.

Laserspark gritted her teeth. Go away, she thought at him with venom. Why couldn't that stupid, annoying ninja-bot just leave her the slag alone?

Do you really want me to leave you alone? Prowl asked her.

"NO!" Laserspark screamed out in fury. She then thrashed violently against the ground, ignoring the pain and protest her systems gave her as she fought bitterly against the immobilization. "YOU FRAGGING GLITCHHEAD, WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE? YOU'RE DEAD AND YOU SHOULDN'T BE SPEAKING TO ME AT ALL!"

Just then there was a swirling of white and blue light, and the outline of a familiar form appeared right before her. It was Prowl, visiting her in his spirit form. She blinked for a moment, not quite believing her eyes. Was this an illusion, or a trick? Was it simply the result of the shock she'd received?

No… it seemed far to real…

She gritted her teeth and glared at him as he hovered before her, looking at her with concern. "Stop looking at me!" she hissed. "I don't want you looking at me." With some effort, she turned her head away from him.

"Why?" Prowl asked, not moving from his spot. His voice wasn't merely in her mind now. It also seemed to fill the room, vibrating within the air and even off of the walls. It somehow gave his spiritual appearance an even more eerie effect.

Laserspark said nothing. She simply growled, glaring at the wall. She did not want him there. She was a Decepticon now, and she was one who'd failed her mission so badly that Megatron would probably laugh if he saw her. All she wanted was to get the hell out of the cell and proceed with her original plans. Why did that have to be so difficult? Why was the universe suddenly so unfair? She had unlocked her true potential when she became a Decepticon, but now it seemed like everything was just trying to hinder her.

For a few moments there was nothing but silence. Then, very slowly, she turned her face back to look at Prowl. Her head was the only thing she could move while wearing the stasis cuffs and that one, minor freedom gave her no comfort whatsoever. Except it could control whether or not she was looking at him.

Now she looked at him fully and scowled deeply. "Go. AWAY." She hissed with as much venom as she could muster. Frankly, this was like the ultimate insult. Prowl had weakly sacrificed his spark to save a city of useless organics, and now his ghost was hovering over her—one of the slickest, most powerful (for her size at least) Decepticons to come along, and now he was right here…

Here to do what, exactly?

As if sensing her unspoken thought, Prowl told her. "I'm here to help you, Sari," he said gently. "But I can only help you if you let me."

"I keep telling you I don't want you here!" she spat. Why wouldn't he just take the hint and go?

"What about your father?" Prowl asked, folding his ghostly arms across his ghostly chassis. He wore that familiar frown on his face, the expression she'd seen so many times on Earth when he was being patient but firm and serious at the same time. "Have you thought of him?"

"He's not really my father, you know that," Laserspark retorted in disgust. "He gave me my human DNA, nothing more."

"He also raised you, and formed an emotional bond with you," Prowl pointed out. "He taught you many things long before you knew what you really were."

"He taught me to be a weak, pathetic human. Nothing more." Laserspark sniffed, and turned her head away again.

"Sari, I want you to tell me something. Do you remember how it felt, to have friends? To have fun playing games with Bumblebee, or helping Bulkhead learn how to paint? Do you remember the time when I tried teaching you to meditate? There were many times when all of us had good times together, and benefited from these friendships."

Laserspark felt a shudder ripple through her. Since she was immobilized, she couldn't move much, but she felt it internally at least. She hated it when Prowl called her "Sari" because it stirred something within her. And she hated it even more that Prowl had to tell her all those things.

Indeed, she did remember those things… part of her remembered them fondly. She and Bumblebee had been quite competitive on Earth, when they played their video games together. And she still remembered those times when she sat still for Bulkhead, so he could paint a portrait of her, despite the fact that it gave her cramps and a stiff neck…

She hissed, forcefully shoving those thoughts away. NO! She could NOT focus on those. She was a Decepticon now!

Prowl sighed softly. "Sari," he began.

"NO! I AM LASERSPARK! STOP CALLING ME SARI! SHE NO LONGER EXISTS!" Laserspark screamed. Yet somehow, something about her voice sounded more pathetic than furious this time.

The ninja simply spoke again, as if not hearing her outburst. "Sari, soon you will have to make a choice. Either you will have to accept my help, and the help of your other friends, or…"

She did not look at him. But when he trailed off she did ask, "Or what?" There was a snappy edge to her tone.

"Or you may find out what happens to a Decepticon who does not wish to be redeemed," Prowl answered simply.

Then in the very next instant, he was gone.

Laserspark found herself staring at the place where he had been moments ago. What exactly had he meant by that?

"Bah, it doesn't matter," she growled, turning her face away again. "He's just a stupid dead Autobot. It was probably all my imagination anyway."

Her optics glanced around the room. Surely there had to be something she could do… some way to get out of there…

Just then, she heard the sound of metallic footsteps approaching. Someone was coming.


	13. Chapter 13

Laserspark stared up at the ceiling lights for what seemed like eons, having absolutely nothing to do. She did not want to see anyone, not unless it was a team of Decepticons come to bust her out of the cell. And yet as more time went by she found herself wishing that someone, anyone, would visit her. Just to give her a distraction from her own thoughts, and to give her something to do.

In the midst of counting how many cracks or crevices her optics could spot in the aged room, she found herself fighting with her own mind—especially her feelings. She found herself wishing that she could talk to someone, or even have someone talk to her, just so she could distract herself from what she was feeling. Trying to find ways to distract herself by gazing around the room, counting cracks in the walls or counting how many times she could breath her minute at varying rates, was not quite cutting it.

Finally she gave in, at least a little bit, and allowed one of the images that she'd been suppressing to flow freely in her processor. It was an image of… the Christmas party they'd had on Earth, actually.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead were putting up the lights and decorations on the tree. It was a tree which Bulkhead himself had brought in, after knocking it down with the use of his wrecking ball. Then they set it up inside the social room of the base and used whatever odds and ends they had lying around to decorate.

Sari had supervised while making oilnog, a mixture of ingredients she'd decided to put into the oil to give it more flavor and more "spaz", as Jazz might say. She had paused in what she was doing at one point to scold Bulkhead and Bumblebee for trying to peek at their presents…

Laserspark hissed, trying to shove that image out of her mind. What did it matter what she did in the past? Why did that image—and other memories like it—have to keep invading her processor? She was Laserspark now, a Decepticon. Sari was a person who no longer existed. Maybe she never really existed in the first place; she was simply a personality that was easily submerged. Sari could only exist until Laserspark was ready to replace her, after all. And Laserspark was the true personality in this body.

"You don't really believe that, at least Sari doesn't."

Oh great, Prowl was back. Of course he would try and take advantage of her distraction and momentary weakness. Wouldn't the ninja ever give it a rest? Couldn't he take the hint and just leave her the frag alone?

"I keep telling you to go away!" Laserspark spat. She was getting so sick and tired of telling him that, over and over. Of course he did go away, but when he did he always came back later.

"I'm not going anywhere, Sari. In fact, I've never really left you at all. I've simply been staying out of your sight and giving you a chance to think things over."

"Yeah well when are you going to get it through your thick glitch-head that I don't want you here? I'm not gonna change, and I'm not the person you remember me to be anymore. So just go back to wherever you came from."

Even though she couldn't see him, she somehow sensed a smile in Prowl's voice when he spoke again. "It's not like you can make me go away. You are locked in a cell, stuck in stasis cuffs, and even if you could get free…" She somehow sensed him smirking. "I'm already dead," he finished.

Laserspark rolled her eyes. "The Decepticons will come for me," she stated with more confidence than she felt.

"No, I don't believe they will. In fact, because of your impulsive actions, everything you have attempted is already starting to unravel, Sari."

"Stop. CALLING. ME. THAT." Laserspark bellowed, wincing as her voice bounced off the walls around her. She had effectively deafened herself.

Outside the cell door she heard the sound of moving footsteps, as if the guard had moved closer to peer in at her. After a moment he moved away again. Perhaps he figured she was merely dreaming… or that she was losing her marbles. Either way, he said nothing and he did not enter, so he must have decided she wasn't trying to escape.

"I am serious," Prowl spoke softly into the silence. "Everything you have tried to do is already falling apart."

Laserspark snorted. "Oh yeah? How so?"

Just then she heard the guard speaking outside of the cell, into his communication's unit. At least that was what she deduced, since he obviously wasn't talking to her, and she couldn't hear any other voices.

"Hello?" the guard said. "You did? Where?" A pause. "Alright, I'll be right there. No don't worry, she seems agitated by something but she's not going anywhere. I'm coming." With that the guard moved away, and Laserspark listened until the sound of his footfalls faded into nothing.

"What was that about?" Laserspark murmured aloud.

Then she could see Prowl's face appear vaguely above her head. "What I just said," he told her.

Laserspark narrowed her eyes. What did he mean by that?

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jetfire was found by a guard on patrol duty. The seeker had been simply sitting on the floor with his legs beneath him, his head in his servos, mumbling under his breath.

The guard who'd been guarding Laserspark came up to see what was going on, and saw the bot on the floor. "Who is this?" he demanded.

The guard who'd found him shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure, but I think it's a member of the Elite Guard," he replied. "Says his name is Jetfire, and he keeps mumbling something about Decepticons and Prowl."

The other guard placed his servo on the back of his helm and rubbed it warily. "Well, the Magnus is on his way here… I think we should simply keep an eye on this bot and let him deal with this when he gets here."

"Yeah, I agree."

"Okay… I need to get back to my post. Keep an optic on him." The guard walked away, moving back to Laserspark's cell.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Jetstorm huddled in the corner of the supply room, with his knees up and his arms wrapped around them. He'd actually been whimpering for a little while, but then he managed to calm himself enough to stop doing that.

Prowl had managed to get through to both of the twins, bringing out their Autobot side and submerging their Decepticon side. As far as Jetstorm could tell, his brother was still distressed down in the tunnels, but he was slowly getting over it. As for Jetstorm himself… he was trying to snap out of his daze as well.

But what exactly was he going to do now? Jetstorm was still trying to figure that out. He was in a building where Decepticons still roamed freely, and they were bound to start suspecting him soon. He couldn't afford to risk letting them know he was an Autobot again; they would likely imprison him along with Bumblebee, or worse.

Bumblebee….

That gave the small Autobot an idea. He slowly stood and, after making sure no one was around, he quickly sprinted off toward the yellow mech's cell. Then, after looking around one more time, he opened the door and slipped in.

Bumblebee was lying on the floor, with the stasis cuffs and mouth clamp still in place.

Jetstorm rushed to his side and bent down beside him, pressing a finger to his mouth. It was a habit he'd learned from humans, ironically enough, although it seemed to be a useful gesture. "Keep still, Bumble-bot," he said. "I am getting you out of here!"


	14. Chapter 14

Bumblebee couldn't believe his optics when he first saw Jetstorm walking toward him. The seeker still had the general appearance of a Decepticon, due to his altered colors and the purple-colored faction symbol on his chassis. And yet his optics had returned to blue, and somehow he was acting more like an Autobot now than a 'con.

The first thing that showed Bee that Jetstorm was back to his normal self was that he approached him very quietly, as though he didn't want the Decepticons to know he was even in there. Of course this made the yellow mech a bit suspicious at first; Sari had fooled him one too many times already, after all. And what if this was simply another of her tricks?

However, Jetstorm merely removed the stasis cuffs along with the mouth clamp from Bumblebee, then quietly asked him to follow him. The seeker led the yellow bot out of the room and down a back hallway that got them safely out of the audio sensor range of the Decepticons.

The pair of bots then made their way back to the surface, and back outside. The abandoned streets and buildings in the area were a welcome sight to Bumblebee's optics. At least it meant that they were out of that makeshift Decepticon base and he was out of his cell.

"So, why did you help me?" Bee finally asked, turning his full attention to the blue-colored seeker. "I thought you were working with the Decepticons now. And… Laserspark."

It hurt all the way to the pit of his spark to refer to his friend as "Laserspark" instead of "Sari". But the little femme had made it perfectly clear, more than once, that she was a Decepticon now. And that meant she was no longer his friend… right?

"Because… I have been redeemed!" Jetstorm answered, speaking as though it was a revelation to himself as it was to Bumblebee. "Thanks to cycle-motor-bot!"

"You mean… Prowl?" Bumblebee stared in disbelief. Yet he couldn't dismiss the notion entirely. After all, even he had seen Prowl's spirit down in his cell… correct?

Jetstorm nodded eagerly. "Yes, cycle-motor-bot got through to me through my brother."

"Where is your brother?" the yellow mech asked, glancing around warily. They were still standing out in the middle of the open, and that prospect did not make him too comfortable at the moment. He wanted to get out of sight as soon as possible.

"He was helping Laserspark," Jetstorm replied. "Now he too is himself again!"

"Well um, that's good to know," Bumblebee said. "But where is S—Laserspark?" He couldn't believe he had almost called her "Sari" again. Despite everything she had done, he couldn't quite shake off his feelings. Deep down… she was still his friend.

"I be thinking that she is still down in the tunnels," the other bot answered. "We should go to him at once!"

"Oh no, not so fast!" Bumblebee stated firmly, taking a step toward the bot and poking a finger into his chassis. "I'm not going anywhere near her or those Decepticons without backup. If I've learned anything from Optimus Prime, that's that we need backup. And after everything she's done…" Bumblebee dropped his servo, sighing softly through his vents. "I don't want to take any chances."

Jetstorm studied the yellow mech for a long moment and then asked, "What do you suggest?"

"Come on," Bumblebee replied, and transformed into his car mode. "We're going to go find Prime."

With that he sped off, leaving Jetstorm to quickly transform into his jet mode and take off after him.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ultra Magnus went down into the security prison area as quickly as he could. Once he arrived, he spent quite a bit of time speaking with, and debriefing, Jetfire. During the briefing he made certain that the medical bot he'd brought along with him—who was none other than Ratchet—had a good opportunity to look the seeker over.

Ratchet deduced that Jetfire was fine all things considered, although he might have some programming glitches for a while. Not only that, but there were several burn marks on the seeker's frame and armor, and some circuitry that had been almost completely shorted out. Ratchet managed to replace or at least remove a lot of the faulty circuits and mechanisms, at least anything that might pose a problem in due time. But he was pleased that Jetfire's own systems had pretty much recovered, bypassing anything that was deemed nonfunctional or corrupt.

However, Ratchet did strongly recommend that Jetfire make certain his anti-virus software and firewall were up to date with the latest security specs and to defrag his hard drive. The medical bot also suggested that, if all of this didn't work to thwart any residual feelings of identity conflict, to see a professional hacker for processor therapy and professional debugging.

Despite the medical analysis and treatment, Ultra Magnus was able to get all of the information he needed about what happened. Apparently Laserspark had a small band of Decepticons somewhere in an abandoned area of Iacon, and she had somehow activated Decepticon programming in the Jet twins. But it would seem that Jetfire at least was back to normal, a little worse for the wear.

Once he was satisfied with the information he'd gotten, Ultra Magnus decided to pay a personal visit to Laserspark. She was, after all, the sole source of all the trouble lately. And he was ready to put a stop to this one way or another. This sort of thing could not be allowed to continue any longer.

He made his way down the long corridor, taking care to make sure the booby-traps in his path were inactive as he went. He also took advantage of his slower pace to try and determine just what he was going to say before he reached the cell.

When he arrived, he saw her lying on the floor, on her side yet staring upward at the ceiling. She was scowling, and she was perfectly restrained by the stasis cuffs that had been built specifically for her.

He couldn't help but stare at her as she lay there, having not noticed him yet. In some ways it was almost impossible to believe that such a small creature could possibly be so powerful, or cause so much trouble.

The Magnus also noticed that she seemed to be staring at something, and her expression was both serious and focused. If he didn't know any better, he would almost think that she was looking at someone. But there was no one else inside the cell. Did this mean she had lost what little sanity she had left?

Finally he cleared his vocalizor, an effective means to announce his presence and acquire her attention. It worked; her eyes blinked and her head snapped in his direction. "Hello there, small one," he greeted her in an even voice.

She scowled up at him. Apparently calling her "small" was one way to rile her up. "When I get out of here, you'll be the first to pay," she hissed through clenched teeth. "I'll make sure of that!"

Ultra Magnus tilted his head to one side, running her words through his processor and analyzing her expression with his optics. "It would seem that you are the one in a disadvantage right now," he told her.

She scoffed, then laughed. It was a harsh, bitter sound. "Only until I get out of here."

The Autobot leader sighed. "You seem to have a way of overstepping your bounds," he began. "You have fooled and manipulated those you used to consider your friends. And you have made excellent progress in your plans—plans which I do not know the full extent of. And yet here you are, helpless and bound inside this cell. So now I ask you," he said slowly, "what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I have nothing I want to say to you," Laserspark spat, then growled a little. "I am a Decepticon, and when I get out of here I'm going to free Megatron and Lugnut, and then we're gonna kick your fragging skid plate all the way to the Pit!"

"If this is the way you wish to be," Ultra Magnus announced with a soft sigh, "then so be it. And you leave me no choice."

Laserspark blinked a little. "What does that mean?" she wanted to know.

"It means that you will be going offline… permanently."

Upon hearing these words, her eyes widened. In many ways she honestly hadn't thought that any of the Autobots would even think about doing that to her. She thought that her pathetic "friends" from Earth would continue to hold onto the notion that "Sari" could still be reached, and insist that she be spared. She'd hoped that this would keep on buying her time until she could come up with a new strategy to get out of the cell.

"Excuse me," a familiar voice suddenly spoke up, from down the hall. It was then followed by the sound of approaching footfalls.

Ultra Magnus turned his head to see who was approaching him. His optical sensors flickered a little in surprise. "Ratchet," he said. "I thought you were with Jetfire."

"He's fine for the moment," Ratchet told the Autobot leader as he neared him. "Please, sir. Give me one last chance to talk to the kid."

Laserspark seethed but said nothing. Seriously, she was NOT a kid!

Ultra Magnus studied the medic for a moment, giving him a long, hard look. "Do you really think that would do any good at this point?" he asked, his tone carefully neutral.

Ratchet sighed. "I honestly don't know," he finally said. "But I've never given up entirely on anyone before. Not Omega Supreme, and not Arcee." His expression darkened a little as he mentioned those names, hoping that they hit home.

Ultra Magnus stared at him. Indeed, those names did hit home. And Ratchet had successfully assisted each of them… with the aide of this small creature now locked up in the cell, no-less. It was no wonder that the medic wanted to try one final time to get through to her if she could. She had done a lot of good things, even though she was now trying to do a lot of bad things.

After a long moment of consideration, Ultra Magnus nodded slightly. "Very well, I will give you some time with her. But," he added in a sterner tone, "this will be your final chance, Ratchet."

The medic nodded grimly. He watched Ultra Magnus as the leader walked away, then turned his full attention to the small form lying in the cell.

"Well," Ratchet began, folding his arms across his chassis, "it's just you and me, kiddo."


	15. Chapter 15

If Laserspark's eyes had been weapons then twin beams of light would have shot through the force field and hit Ratchet squarely between the optics, and then in the spark chamber. Or at the very least, they certainly would have tried.

The little femme began to struggle against the tiny stasis cuffs that her wrists were trapped in, for all the good it did. She was helpless and immobile and this fact infuriated her more than anything. She wanted to stand up, blast through the force field, and go kill that Autobot who was mocking her by calling her "kiddo" of all things.

And yet he was not mocking her at all. He stood there on the opposite side of the cell door, a grim expression frozen on his features as he unfolded his arms. "Sari," he said in a quiet, gravelly voice, "I need you to listen to me." He slowly knelt down on the floor so that he was closer to her eye-level, even though she was several feet away from him. "I can help you, but you have to help me help you."

She gritted her dental plating together. "You can't help me," she hissed. "I am what I'm supposed to be. And I will help Megatron defeat the Autobots!"

The medic's countenance didn't change, but Laserspark could see something in his optics. Hope? Or some other foolish Autobot virtue?

"Sari," Ratchet said quietly, his grainy voice somewhat gentle now, "do you think that, or feel that to be true?"

The smaller femme continued to scowl at him. Her red optics began to glow brilliently, illuminating the purple and gray colors of her Decepticon-style dress. They continued to brighten until they looked like a pair of fiery orbs. "Don't ask such stupid questions, you old rust bucket."

Finally, Ratchet's face changed in expression, and to Laserspark's suprise, he chuckled. Her optics dulled down quite a bit, but some of her anger was still there.

The Autobot, on the other hand, was on to something. She knew that he still saw her, somewhat, as the pathetic Sari, his old and dear friend. Wouldn't he be disgruntled? Heartbroken? Ratchet's small but effective chuckle died down. He now looked...wistful.

"I think you're just afraid to answer," Ratchet finally replied. "Besides Sari, you should know that question. Do you KNOW it, or FEEL it?"

Laserspark simply gawked at him for a long moment. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and then she finally said, "I don't understand the question. I'm Laserspark and I'm a Decepticon. I'm supposed to help the Decepticons rise above the Autobots and retake Cybertron for themselves. It's... just what I'm supposed to do." She then nodded ever so slightly to herself. She was quite satisfied with that answer, for it was the truth.

At least, it was what her processor was telling her. It made her accept those very words and more as the truth; the Decepticons were the ones she needed to help and the Autobots were her enemies. It all seemed so logical, so right. Especially because it was the one thing she had been made for.

So why did it feel... different somehow, deep down inside her chest? When she focused on her spark for a moment she found herself gazing at Ratchet in a different light-she felt a different feeling. She LOVED him, as a friend. She did not realize that for a moment her optics flickered and almost turned blue again before settling back into their Decepticon red.

She was being foolish. That's all that it was. Some remnants of Sari must still remain in her memories and her spark for this sort of nonsense to go on. Ratchet was the enemy, and Sari had been a fake identity; nothing was going to change that. Laserspark pressed her lips together in a thin line. She was confident that nothing would cause her resolve to falter or crumble. She was a Decepticon, after all-and a very powerful one, in spite of her size.

"Sari," Ratchet whispered quietly, his spark skipping a beat. Her optics, and the look on her face from mere seconds ago...she was still there.

"Sari," he repeated, this time inching closer to the force field, "I know you can hear me. Your processor is tainted. Laserspark lives there-no, THRIVES there, and is keeping you trapped. I know you're in your own spark Sari!"

Ratchet then looked desperate. His optics were glistening now, and suddenly felt his war hardened spark soften, only in the way he had towards Arcee. Love was overtaking him, his love for the small girl that used to be such a grating, annoying mess to his company, yet somehow had worked her way into his trust and compassion; love, for the young femme before him who had saved lives, and had been there for her friends.

No, she was still there for them. Ratchet just had to help her out, and take control again.

"Sari," he begged in a hallow, humbling whisper.

Laserspark shook her head. "Sari's not here." For some reason the anger began to fade, at least a little. She felt a twinge of pity for the large red-and-white Autobot, sympathy because his little friend was gone and out of reach.

She shuddered slightly as the anger and frustration returned. He was an Autobot. Why should she feel anything at all for him? A Decepticon would never ever feel sorry for one such as him.

She looked down at the stasis cuffs holding her immobile. As she focused on them her anger and frustration rekindled into the rage she had been feeling up until this point. Yes, that was more like it. She should feel furious at the Autobot because she had been captured, her plans had been thwarted, and now she was lying here like a pathetic little thing while he tried to convince her she was really someone else. If only he would give it up and accept that his stupid little human pal was gone and she was all that remained!

Yet somehow, doubt began to creep into her processor. Was she really Laserspark, or was Sari real as well? She could almost swear that she felt the other identity poking through from time to time, as though it were merely submerged and trying to reassert itself.

The anger within her began to give way to fear. Was she truly Laserspark? Yes, yes she was. But it did seem that Sari was indeed there too... deep down.

"Okay," Laserspark finally growled, her red optics narrowing again as she focused on the Autobot medic. "Sari does seem to be here, too. She's not gone... just suppressed by me. But what happens if you do get your little pal back? What happens to me? Should I really be allowed to die just because she was here first?" The very idea of giving up this body-which was meant for HER, after all-to that pathetic weakling made her sick to the core of her processor.

It wasn't fair! Sari was her prisoner, in a sense. Laserspark realized this now. And she also realized that this could also give her an edge as well. "Hey," she said slyly, a mischievious grin forming over her features. It almost looked like the large smile that young Sari would have gotten when she was about to pull a prank with Bumblebee. Only this smile was more evil and a whole lot creepier. "Maybe I'll let your little pal have her body back... on one condition." She looked straight up into Ratchet's optics, as if the force field wasn't even there.

Ratchet frowned, not liking what the little but fierce Con was up to now. "What do you mean?"

"Let me download myself into a protoform... and then let me out of here. Then you can have your pathetic little Sari and all that she is back. All I want is my freedom and a chance to be with my Decepticon brethren." She continued to gaze at him, awaiting an answer. She didn't really like the idea of giving up all this power-and what was supposed to be HER body-to Sari. But maybe she could make better use of a bigger body if she could get into one. And then she could begin to upgrade it with mods... She smiled at the delicious thought. The possibilities seemed endless.

"That's not my decision to make kiddo," Ratchet replied as he stood up again. "That's something that should be discussed with the Magnus."

Laserspark noticed that he was back to his grim self, but she didn't care. It was about time that the old geezer finally gave up. He started to walk out of the room, but not before adding one last word.

"Good luck Sari; we miss ya," he said, and left with only that lingering in the air.

A harsh growl erupted from the little Decepticons' mouth as he moved almost out of her sight. Since she was stuck right where she was, and she was in a cell, he didn't have to go far to move out of her line of vision. "You can still help me!" she shouted. "For your little friend's sake! Magnus doesn't have to know a thing-you can just get me out of here and get your friend back without telling him a thing!" She fell silent, waiting to see if he would respond.

Ratchet still had his back facing to her, and she couldn't see his face. But a heavy sigh left his vocalizer as he rested his servo on the door. Laserspark was right, in a sense; he had once transplated different programming into other protoforms or bodies, though it was years ago. Besides, he wasn't just going to let another Decepticon free. Quite frankly, and to put it bluntly, Ratchet was just sick of Decepticons and the stupid games they tried to pull.

There was too much from his past to know better.

"That's the problem with you Cons," Ratchet muttered, who still hadn't turned around. "You think you can get anything you want, anything, if you just make dirty deals, or threaten something...or someone," He then finally turned around, a tired yet defiant look written all over his face.

"You're nothing more than a lowly, pathetic, venomous, parasitic, no-good, evil-"

At this point the old mech had slowly started to walk toward the force shield again, each step firm and sure, not stopping his speech. Finally, after the long, hard years in the Great War, and after his experience on Earth, all of the weight was coming off.

"-unloved, egotistic, thieving, undeserving, wasteful, PIECE OF RUSTED UNICRON SCRAP, like ANY OTHER DECEPTICON.

By now, Ratchet was on his knees again, face to face with the menace that over took Sari.

"You think you can do anything you want...but this is a spark, and an innocent soul you're dealing with," the old warbot seethed in deathly quietness. "You Decepticreeps have no power over such holy things. Primus have mercy on you, Laserspark, because you'll be meeting him soon enough!"

Before Laserspark could find the words to respond, Ratchet was completely out of her sight and she could hear his footsteps clanking as he walked away from her cell.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ultra Magns glanced up as he heard the medi-bot approaching him from behind. He turned to face Ratchet as the medic drew near. "Ratchet," the Autobot leader acknowledged with a nod. "I have just recieved word that Bumblebee and Jetstorm made it to Optimus Prime and both of them are fine. And from what I gather, both of the twins were under Laserspark's control for a while but somehow they have managed to break free."

He cocked his head slightly to one side, looking thoughtful. "Both of them insist that Prowl played a part in it somehow," he added after a moment. "I don't see how that is possible, although I have heard many strange things about cyber ninjas who have progressed far in their training. Sometimes when I speak to Nightbird on occasion, she insists that she still hears from Yoketron from time to time."

He shook his head slightly. "But that is irrelevant at the moment. Tell me, Ratchet, did you have any success in there?" His optics indicated the direction Ratchet had just come from-the direction where Laserspark's cell was.

At first, Ratchet was stil too heated up to respond right away. In fact, the Magnus noticed he was slightly puffing through his vents angrily. When the medibot looked up at his leader, he still held that stern and hateful look in his optics. Yet, there was a deep hurtness to it too.

"Ultra Magnus, Sar-Laserspark, is still in control, though...I somehow managed to have Sari flicker back for a brief second...but only a second. Laserspark also tried to make a deal: We can have Sari back, if we place the Decepticon coding into another body,"

The Autobot leader blinked his optics once. Then his optics narrowed. "We cannot allow her to move into a protoform body. There is no telling what she will do if we allow this, even though we would keep her imprisoned of course."

In his processor, Ratchet's small fit of rage back in the cell fleeted through, but he pushed it aside. "My thoughts exactly, Magnus. I wouldn't trust any Con, no matter the deal or situation,"

Then he mumbled, "I just hope Sari's strong enough to use nothing more than her spark to over-power Laserspark. It's our only hope to finish this. We just...need to encourage her more...try and show Sari that she has her friends, and that she can do this. She needs support," At that, Ratchet sighed, and rubbed his helm exhaustedly.

Ultra Magnus inhaled air sharply through his vents and let it out again in a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you," he began. "I am sorry to tell you this, but since you and some of the others care deeply for the bot that that small femme used to be... I feel it is only right to tell you."

He bowed his head for a brief moment as if trying to organize his thoughts, then met Ratchet's eyes directly. "The Council has been discussing the prospect of... executing the worst of the Decepticon criminals, if we reach that decision during their trial. Simply because they have proven to be too dangerous and we cannot allow them to try anything again. And," a small frown formed on his stern features, "that includes Laserspark. I'm sorry."

For a moment, just from sheer shock, Ratchet stood numbly on the spot. He was staring at the Magnus, with such intensity that his vision began to blur.

He then remembered Arcee, and Omega Supreme, and Bumblebee, and every single bot that was injured, tortured, or killed, because of a Decepticon. Laserspark was going to kill Sari after all, and drag her into death with her.

"No," Ratchet rasped out.

"What?" asked the Magnus, trying to make out his fellow bot's meaning.

"No," he said firmly. "I know how Laserspark is in control; she is merely a personality program imbedded in Sari's processor. Sari herself, everything that is her, is in her spark. This isn't some...some...living, moving BOT we're talking about, just...it's psychological, and...spiritual,"

Suddenly, Ratchet's optics widened, as if he had an idea.

"Ultra Magnus, I think Prowl can help us, and Sari, get rid of and terminate Laserspark, without killing Sari herself. And I think we're going to need a cyber ninja."


End file.
